Wendell Pierce revealed on X that an apartment owner recently denied his request for an apartment in Harlem, N.Y. despite his rock-solid income from various film and television roles over the last year and change. Pierce alleged that his application was rejected due to racism.
“For those of you who don’t understand my righteous anger; I’m on 2 TV series, ELSBETH and RAISING KANAN. I’m filming SUPERMAN. Two years ago, I finished the fourth season of JACK RYAN,” Pierce wrote to his followers.” Last year I finished a run on Broadway in DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Even with my proof of employment, bank statements and real estate holdings, a white apartment owner DENIED my application to rent the apartment…..in Harlem, of all places.”
“Racism and bigots are real,” he added. “There are those who will do anything to destroy life’s journey for Black folks. When you deny our personal experiences, you are as vile and despicable.”
Pierce, best known for his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in HBO’s “The Wire,” is playing Perry White in James Gunn’s new DC Universe, starting with the 2025 theatrical release of “Superman” (formerly “Superman: Legacy”). Gunn has been filming the comic book movie in Atlanta.
The day after Pierce told his story about being rejected for an apartment, he shared a story from The Wall Street Journal on social media that covered an appeals court blocking an Atlanta-based investment firm from running a grant program for Black women.
“This is an act of institutionalized racism by the courts not seen in years,” Pierce wrote. “A stealth act of bigotry in the shadows.”
He elaborated on the topic in an interview with The Daily Beast: “It makes me sick motherfucker how far you will go to destroy our ability to live our lives in peace and prosperity. Attacked in schools, attacked by police, attacked for expecting to live the stated values of this country, and attacked when successful in business. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. For generations we have embraced that lie as the violence against our community proves otherwise. It’s getting harder to stay in denial, America.”
Read Pierce’s full post on the matter below.
Source Agencies
