TV host Mike Rowe posed a question to his X followers about whether Matt Walsh’s treatment of “White Fragility” author Robin DiAngelo was “fair” in his hit film, “Am I Racist?”
Rowe, 62, began by laying out some background. He recalled interviewing Walsh after the release of his 2022 documentary “What Is a Woman?” and noticing backlash from the people who were featured in the film.
“When [‘What Is a Woman?’] was released, however, many of the people Matt interviewed were angry. They claimed that they had been deceived by the filmmakers, in much the same way Sacha Baron Cohen had duped the subjects in his Borat movies,” Rowe wrote, adding that Walsh is “strongly opposed to transgender surgeries on children, and highly critical of men competing in women’s sports,” but did not tell that to anyone he was interviewing.
Rowe relates how Walsh took a similar approach with “Am I Racist?” in his efforts to expose the grifters of the DEI industry.
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“In this film, Matt assumes the identity of a privileged white man who is afraid he might be racist. On his journey to become a more enlightened citizen, he asks another group of experts to help guide him to a more enlightened state,” he wrote in the post.
“As with ‘What is a Woman?’ Matt doesn’t argue with these experts. He just asks them questions, from the perspective of a guilt-ridden white man who wants to learn how he can be less racist. Well, the experts provide answers that are candid, instructive, and more often than not, hysterical. But once again, the experts are crying foul.”
He said DiAngelo was “especially incensed” and wrote in a letter to followers that she had been “contacted under false pretenses.”
“I realized later that I had been played,” she said in the letter, leading Rowe to wonder if she was correct.
“So, what do you think? Was she? Was Robin DeAngelo unfairly misled?” the “Dirty Jobs” star asked his X followers. “Was it wrong of Matt to pretend that his movie was an attempt to elevate DEI, rather than lampoon it?”
“Personally, I loved this movie for all sorts of reasons,” he added. “Mostly, because I know that I’m not a racist and I have no patience for anyone who claims that they know me better than I do. I also happen to think that ‘White Fragility’ is one of the most divisive, counter-productive, and patently stupid books ever published. But I’m not entirely unsympathetic to Robin’s position.”
Rowe next recalled people in the past using his image “in whatever fashion they wanted to. He said eventually, he became more savvy about how his name and likeness were used, but most people did not because “they really, really, really want to be on TV, or on the big screen, or whatever.”
“Point is, Robin DeAngelo signed a typical talent release, and now, she’s screwed,” he went on. “She can’t very well say she was taken ‘out of context,’ because she wasn’t. Her words and actions in the movie are hers, and she would look even more ridiculous if she said she didn’t mean to say and do precisely what she said and did when she knew the cameras were rolling. But the question remains – was it fair?”
Rowe’s followers came out in force to say that despite how bad it looked for DiAngelo, especially the bit about her paying $30 in reparations out of her own wallet to a black producer on the film, Walsh’s treatment of her was ultimately fair.
“So, if he was 100% upfront and honest about what he was doing, they wouldn’t have cooperated and been 100% honest with him and exposed and embarrassed themselves. That’s their argument. You should’ve been honest with me so I would’ve known to lie to you,” one commenter wrote.
“Well said, and it was totally fair of Matt to do what he did. Robin has responsibility for herself and her actions. If she didn’t want to be shown for what she is, then she shouldn’t have taken the money and done the interview. She should’ve read up on due diligence,” another agreed.
“They said and did what they meant to, why do they run and hide from it or scream foul later? Are they embarrassed for acting as they believe? Do they actually believe it at all? These humans are selling BS for fame and profit and it embarrasses them would be my guess,” a third said.
“It was fair. She signed the contract,” another commenter echoed. “In both movies. It’s no one’s fault but their own that they come off looking ridiculous. It’s because they are ridiculous. They got to see how ridiculous they are, and they got embarrassed and mad.”
“Am I Racist?” is still in the top ten at the box office and has become one of the best-performing documentaries in the last decade. Tickets are available at amiracist.com.
