Movie theaters cave to pressure from leftist activists, cancel screenings of Matt Walsh's 'Am I Racist'"The only way to stop the Left from shutting down the film is to support the theaters that are showing it."
Movie theaters cave to pressure from leftist activists, cancel screenings of Matt Walsh's 'Am I Racist'
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Hannah Nightingale
Washington DC
Sep 13, 2024
2 minute read
Left-wing activists are reportedly targetting movie theaters across the country that are playing Matt Walsh’s latest film Am I Racist?, with one California theater issuing an apology to patrons and cancelling showtimes for the film.
The Del Oro Theatre in Grass Valley, California on Thursday issued a statement to patrons, saying that they will not be playing the movie over "strong reactions" from the community.
"Due to the strong reactions from our community (for and against the film), and concerns for the well-being of our staff, we will not be playing the film 'Am I Racist' as originally intended," the statement, posted to Facebook, read.
"Please know that it was not our intention to cause such division by playing this film. We noticed that many of the theaters in the Sacramento area were booked to play this film and quite frankly this reaction caught us off guard. The safety of our staff is our number one priorty. Please accept our apologies."
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck revealed that another theatre owner had told him that other small theaters "are being targeted with threats from left wing activists."
"We need to pack the theaters with sold out showings to make this movie even bigger," Starbuck urged. Walsh echoed this sentiment, writing, "The only way to stop the Left from shutting down the film is to support the theaters that are showing it."
Am I Racist? premiered on September 9 and features Walsh diving into the anti-racism industry, attending workshops, dinners and interviewing high-profile figures. In the end, Walsh concluded that anti-racist teaching is "a lie meant to manipulate us."
Donning a disguise, Walsh was able to get an interview with White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo, who later claimed to have been "manipulated" into appearing on camera for the film. Authors Saira Rao and Regina Jackson, who host a dinner party series called "Race 2 Dinner" in which the two host anti-racism dinner parties, claimed that they had been "conned" into appearing on screen.