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In the STARZ series American Gods, Orlando Jones plays Mr. Nancy, an African trickster god who makes stunning commentary about America’s history of slavery and racism. Now he’s reportedly been dropped from the show, because producers are concerned about the message his character sends to Black Americans.
According to Gizmodo, on Saturday, in an incredibly candid Twitter video, Jones, 51, stunned his followers by announcing that on September 10, 2018 (later corrected to 2019) he was fired from the show.
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During the 45-second clip, he specifically (but not by name) calls out the film’s new showrunner, Charles Eglee, accusing him of letting him go due to racial and political concerns rather than being focused on what critics agree has been a stellar performance on his part.
One correction: I was fired September 10th 2019. https://t.co/sYiEgAjAby
— Orlando Jones (@TheOrlandoJones) December 14, 2019
“There will be no more Mr. Nancy. Don’t let these m*****f*****s tell you they love Mr. Nancy. They don’t,” Jones said. “I’m not going to name names but the new season 3 showrunner [Eglee] is Connecticut born and Yale-educated, so he’s very smart and he thinks that Mr. Nancy’s angry, get shit done is the wrong message for black America. That’s right. This white man sits in that decision-making chair and I’m sure he has many Black bffs who are his advisors and made it clear to him that if he did not get rid of that angry god Mr. Nancy he’d start a Denmark Vesey uprising in this country. I mean, what else could it be?”
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In a subsequent tweet, the actor also calls out Fremantle USA, the production company behind the show, characterizing them as “a nightmare,” and alleging that they “treated you like a 2nd class citizen for doing your job to [sic] well.”
“They were exceptionally nasty and evil the way they did it,” he added.
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