Captain America actor Anthony Mackie has responded to an online backlash against him after he claimed the qualities the character strives for are not currently represented by the United States.
Mackie, whose character Sam Wilson assumed the role previously played by Chris Evans at the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame is preparing for his first solo outing as the Marvel hero in Captain America: Brave New World.
The bust-up began following comments made by Mackie when promoting the film in Rome. He described the eponymous protagonist as a man with “honour, dignity and integrity,” and that such qualities did not currently represent America.
“For me Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations,” Mackie said. “It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honour, dignity and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”
The viral clip was quick to anger Republicans, who called for the movie to be boycotted, with some going so far as to describe it as “woke garbage.” Conservative political commentator Dan Bongino shared a clip on X of Mackie’s remarks and wrote: “Another s*** movie I won’t be seeing.”
Mackie, 46, has since taken to Instagram to address the controversy and clarify what he meant by his comments. On Instagram Stories the star wrote: “Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honour of a lifetime.
“I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to,” Mackie concluded.
Marvel fans have since come out in force to remind the detractors of the real meaning of the character and his values.
“Captain America two and three were about Captain America directly going against the US government because of poor choices based on incomplete information,” one user wrote. “He’s not a propaganda-spewing mouthpiece and is in fact the direct opposite. So yeah, Anthony Mackie is right.”
“The responses to this show that a lot of people truly do not fundamentally understand the character of Captain America,” wrote another X user. “He is a compass of morality, he is the ideals that we strive towards. He is the embodiment of The American Dream, not the American government.”
Captain America: Brave New World, which also stars Harrison Ford, is scheduled to be released on February 14 in the US.
