Jeffrey Wright has condemned the racist remarks made by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla against French Football star Kylian Mbappé. The 60-year-old actor said, “They think they can somehow diminish how powerful he is on the field with their stupidity.”
Jeffrey Wright said the abuse directed at Kylian Mbappé is part of a troubling trend
Following Paraguay’s defeat to France at the World Cup on July 4, Amarilla posted a series of racist comments on X and Instagram targeting Mbappé. She described him as a “brute” and a “colonised Cameroonian” and made a reference to him “sucking on coconuts” as a child, reports Forbes. The 61-year-old official later deleted the posts after facing backlash.
In an X post on July 9, Amarilla said her Instagram account had been hacked “possibly since this morning,” adding that she is not responsible for any posts shared from the account going forward.
Wright addressed the controversy during a roundtable discussion at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where he criticized the senator’s comments. The actor, who is known for his iconic role as Belize in Angels in America, said, as per Variety, “Look at this bullsh*t. What is she talking about?! I mean, here’s this guy who’s one of the greatest football players in the world. It’s obvious to anyone who’s not a f**king idiot just by watching the man on the field, how significant he is as a player, how significant his contributions are to this game that the world loves. And he’s a human being as well.”
He described individuals like Amarilla as “lazy-minded” and “self-aggrandizing” people who were trying to gain a sense of power by disparaging Mbappé. He said their remarks could not diminish the footballer’s achievements on the field. He further stated, “I’m Black, and for me, it’s a political term. It’s not a biological term.”
Mbappé also broke his silence on Amarilla’s remarks with a post on X. Mbappé criticized Amarilla in a post on X, calling her “a despicable woman” and saying she was “unworthy” of her position. He added that she did not represent Paraguay, a country he said had shown “passion and honor” throughout the competition. Mbappé also accused her comments of overshadowing the efforts and historic achievement of Paraguay’s players at the World Cup.
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