Why are people angry about Mark Wahlberg presenting an award at the SAG ceremony?

Mark Wahlberg was picked to present the 2023 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture on Sunday night, but the decision is being met with widespread criticism.

Why are people angry about Mark Wahlberg presenting?

The 51-year-old presented the award to the majority Asian cast of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

The film was the big winner on Sunday night, winning four awards. One of those awards included Ke Huy Quan’s win for Best Supporting Actor, which made him the first Asian actor to ever win a SAG Award for an individual performance in a film.

However, people watching were confused by the SAG Awards’ decision to have Wahlberg present an award to the cast of the film.

When Wahlberg was a teenager, he was charged with attacking two Vietnamese men. He hit one man in the head with a stick while trying to steal alcohol, while he punched the other in the face while trying to avoid the police.

Police officers reported that he used racial slurs to describe both men.

Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder and pleaded guilty to felony assault. He was sentenced to two years in jail, but only served 45 days before he was released.

Wahlberg sought a pardon

In 2014, he sought a pardon for his crimes, saying he had dedicated himself to becoming a better person in the years since the incident. He later dropped the appeal and told the Guardian in a 2020 interview that he had owned up to his mistakes.

“I took it upon myself to own up to my mistakes and go against the grain and not be a part of the gang any more — to say that I was going to go and do my own thing,” said Wahlberg.

“I would hope that people would be able to get a second chance in life.”

Fans were quick to point out Wahlberg’s past

Fans watching the ceremony questioned the decision to have Wahlberg present the award given his past.

“I gotta say, having Mark Wahlberg, who literally went to jail as a teen for committing a hate crime against a Vietnamese man, present an award to the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once was certainly a choice,” one fan wrote on Twitter.

“Having Mark Wahlberg present this is so ugly #SAGAwards,” wrote another person.

“I feel like if Mark Wahlberg (or his management) wanted his checkered racist past to fade into obscurity, presenting the SAG award to EEEAAO would not have been on the list of gigs to take,” added another person.

There were some fans who defended Wahlberg, stating the crime he committed happened in the 1980s and that he had served jail time for it.

“So everyone is reacting over Mark Wahlberg presenting an award to a film with a predominantly Asian cast because of a crime he did over 30 years ago to an Asian bec [sic] of his drug issues then served time and did peace with the offended party and turned his life around,” said another person, before adding. “Okay then.”