by Andrew Kiser
When I first heard of “Birth of a Nation,” a movie about the slave Nat Turner, who rebelled against slave owners in 1831, I was excited to see a story about the most famous slave rebellion. But as soon the movie’s Oscar possibilities gained more attention, so did the director, co-writer and actor Nate Parker’s past rape allegations.
Parker, who plays Turner in the movie, and co-writer, Jean Celestin, went to trial for rape when they were students at Penn State University in 1999. Parker was later acquitted, but Celestin was convicted. However, Celestin applied for an appeal and the charge was subsequently overturned.
The woman in the case later committed suicide in 2012. During an interview on “60 Minutes,” Parker told Anderson Cooper he was “devastated” to learn of his accuser’s suicide, but did not express grief.
“I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here,” Parker said. “I feel terrible that her family had to deal with that, but as I sit here an apology is no.”
Parker also reaffirmed to Cooper that he was acquitted and is, in fact, innocent.
“I do think it’s tragic, so much of what’s happened,” Parker said. “But at some point, I have to say it. I was falsely accused. I went to court and I sat in trial, I was vindicated.”
Parker’s quote brought up the sad, cold truth of rape cases; the accused are often found not guilty. According to rainn.org, out of 1,000 rape cases, 994 perpetrators will not be incarcerated.
While it is likely that some of the accused are innocent, this number shows that rape cases are difficult to convict. Some of the reasons behind this can be the lack of DNA evidence cannot accurately pinpoint who did it. And, the cases usually have a lack of witnesses which leads to the belief of one person’s word over another’s.
So with the Parker case, it becomes his and Celestin’s word over the accuser’s. While researching more about the aftermath of the case, I found myself sympathizing for the accuser. This point was further emphasized after reading her sister’s, Sharon Loeffler, article in “Variety.”
According to Loeffler’s, going to college was a huge deal for her sister as she recently aged out of foster care. She was looking forward to making a new life for herself, but her life changed negatively soon after.
After the alleged rape, she was harassed and dropped out of college. She then accused Parker and Celestin and took them to court. According to Loeffler, “Two years later, she went through the ordeal of testifying. She endured cross-examination by two high-priced lawyers who attacked her character and her background.”
When Parker was acquitted and Celestin’s case was overturned on appeal, Loeffler’s sister went through every option to testify again. However, after several years, other witnesses moved away and prosecutors did not want to retry the case.
As Parker became a well-known actor, Loeffler’s sister was tormented by his success as she was still struggling. After she committed suicide, Loeffler was devastated. She wrote, “It took me more than two years to not cry uncontrollably every day over her loss.”
Reading this article, a question came to my mind, “Does this person sound like someone, who would make up a fake rape story?” The answer was, and is still, no.
While Parker can say he was acquitted by his peers, Celestin was not. At least 12 of his fellow peers thought he was guilty at first. Only an appeal overturned his case.
To make matters worse for the screenwriters, they included a rape scene of Turner’s wife, which, by the way, did not happen in real life. The gumption of these two to include a fictional rape scene after their own past rape allegations shows the disrespect they have for Loeffler’s sister.
While I strongly recommend people to boycott this movie, I will not, or cannot, condemn anyone who still wants to see this movie, because I have knowingly watched actors or directors who have done unspeakable acts.
For example, I have watched “The Naked Gun,” repeatedly and laughed at O.J. Simpson as the clumsy detective, Nordberg, even though I believe there is a high probability he killed two people.
And that is why I understand people who still want to see “Birth of a Nation.” Some might tell me that I will even like the film, which is a strong possibility; but sometimes we need to draw a line between who and what we want to support.
