LaKeith Stanfield Issues Apology After Co-Moderating Clubhouse Chat That Turned Anti-Semitic

LaKeith Stanfield is apologizing for being a part of a Clubhouse conversation that turned anti-Semitic.

On Wednesday (May 5), the 29-year-old actor co-moderated a conversation on the social media site where users talked about controversial leader of the Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan‘s 2018 remarks where he compared Jewish people to termites, The Daily Beast reports. They also spread vile conspiracy theories about Jewish people controlling the slave trade and talked about Adolf Hitler in a positive light.

After the situation was reported, LaKeith took to Instagram on Friday (May 7) to apologize for his involvement.

Click inside to for more info and to read LaKeith Stanfield’s apology…

“Yesterday I entered an online chat room on Clubhouse about the teachings of Louis Farrakhan. When the room’s participants noticed me, I was quickly made a moderator of this room,” LaKeith wrote. “At some point during the dialogue the discussion took a very negative turn when several users made abhorrent anti-Semitic statements and at that point, I should have either shut down the discussion or removed myself from it entirely.”

It was also reported that LaKeith did not say anything anti-Semitic during the chat.

“I condemn hate speech and discriminatory views of every kind,” LaKeith continued. “I unconditionally apologize for what went on in that chat room, and for allowing my presence there to give a platform to hate speech. I am not an anti-Semite nor do I condone any of the beliefs discussed in that chat room.”

The Daily Beast also reported that on Thursday (May 6), a day after the controversial conversation, LaKeith joined a different Clubhouse chat, which was moderated by a panel of Jewish educators, to also address the situation.

“It’s been a crazy couple 48 hours,” LaKeith said in the chat. “I’ve been in a couple rooms where a lot of s–t has been discussed and talked about, very heightened emotional states. It’s been very enlightening and interesting to me, I never really knew that this debate existed in this way about identity, the origins of Judaism in Jewishness, and how many different interpretations there are different things, whether or not it’s a religion and ethno-religion or what it is a faith race.”

LaKeith also acknowledged that in choosing to be a Clubhouse moderator, he needs to pay “attention to what is actually being discussed and determine if that’s a discussion that you really want to get into.”