“This is all just too disgusting,”La La Landproducer Jordan Horowitztweeted Wednesdaywith a screenshot of Vallelonga’s original post.
Vallelonga had replied to Trump, then running for president, to support Trump’s false claim about Muslims in America cheering on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down. I saw it, as you did, possibly on local CBS news,” Vallelonga tweeted at the time. Trump was “100 percent correct,” he claimed.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, Vallelonga apologized for the remark.
“I spent my life trying to bring this story of overcoming differences and finding common ground to the screen, and I am incredibly sorry to everyone associated withGreen Book,” he said. (The film’s studio, Universal, had no comment.)
Trump first made the claim at a campaign rally on Nov. 21, 2015, in Alabama, according to theNew York TimesandPolitiFact. His assertion was almost immediately debunked, though Trump continued to defend himself, theTimesreported.
“I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down,” Trump said at his rally, according to the paper. “And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering.”
In an interview on ABC the next day, Trump doubled-down, further claiming: “There were people over in New Jersey that were watching it, a heavy Arab population, that were cheering as the buildings came down. Not good.”
Vallelonga tweeted back at Trump that same day. His postwas first spotted on the website AwardsWatch.
Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen inGreen Book.Patti Perret/Universal
‘Green Book’ Is a Story About Friendship Amid Racial Tensions and Socioeconomic Differences
In his statement to PEOPLE, Vallelonga offered his remorse specifically to theGreen Bookcast — including Mahershala Ali, who is Muslim — as well as to all Muslims.
As many noted online, the underlying message ofGreen Bookstands in contrast to Vallelonga’s past comment.
“I especially deeply apologize to the brilliant and kind Mahershala Ali, and all members of the Muslim faith, for the hurt I have caused,” Vallelonga said. “I am also sorry to my late father who changed so much from Dr. Shirley’s friendship and I promise this lesson is not lost on me.Green Bookis a story about love, acceptance and overcoming barriers, and I will do better.”
While the film’s recent wins at theGolden Globeswere a boon to predictions that it will be an Academy Awards contender, other controversies have also lessened the film’s shine.
Peter Farrelly.Patti Perret/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
“I was an idiot,” Farrelly said in his statement. “I did this decades ago and I thought I was being funny and the truth is I’m embarrassed and it makes me cringe now. I’m deeply sorry.”
Both Edwin and Don Shirley’s brother Maurice Shirley received a call from Ali, according to the site.
Edwin continued, “What [Mahershala] said was, ‘If I have offended you, I am so, so terribly sorry. I did the best I could with the material I had. I was not aware that there were close relatives with whom I could have consulted to add some nuance to the character.’ ”
source: people.com
