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Famed writer Walter Mosley removed himself from a TV project after other writers reportedly took offense to him, a Black man, using the n-word.
Mosley reportedly stepped away from the Star Trek: Discovery project after the powers that be got complaints that he was using the n-word on in the writers’ room, The NY Post reports.
In a New York Times op-ed piece published on Friday, Mosley addressed his use of the word.
He explained: “I am the N-word in the writers’ room,” Mosley, 67, said about his use wielding the word.
Mosley said he was not calling anyone the word, but instead using it in a specific context.
“I just told a story about a cop who explained to me, on the streets of Los Angeles, that he stopped all n—ers in paddy neighborhoods and all paddies in n—er neighborhoods, because they were usually up to no good. I was telling a true story as I remembered it,” he wrote.
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Mosley said Human Resources approached him saying that someone complained. He said he was outraged.
“There I was being chastised for criticizing the word that oppressed me and mine for centuries,” Mosley wrote.
“There’s all kinds of language that makes me uncomfortable. … But I have no right whatsoever to tell anyone what they should and should not cherish or express.
“I do not believe that it should be the object of our political culture to silence those things said that make some people uncomfortable.”
He continued, “If I have an opinion, a history, a word that explains better than anything how I feel, then I also have the right to express that feeling or that word without the threat of losing my job.”
Mosely stood strong in his beliefs and said he responded and told HR he would “resign and move on.”
“I was in a writers’ room trying to be creative while at the same time being surveilled by unknown critics who would snitch on me to a disembodied voice over the phone. My every word would be scrutinized,” the Devil in a Blue Dress author wrote.
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“Sooner or later I’d be fired or worse — silenced.”
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the project Mosely was working on was CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery.
“We have the greatest admiration for Mr. Mosley’s writing talents and were excited to have him join ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’” CBS TV Studios told the outlet in a statement.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of confidential employee matters, we are committed to supporting a workplace where employees feel free to express concerns and where they feel comfortable performing their best work.”
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