(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) Marvel actor Anthony Mackie faced backlash after making the claim that the character Captain America doesn’t “represent” America.
Mackie, which took over the titular role from Chris Evans, made the comments Monday during a press event in Rome while promoting Captain America: Brave New World.
Anthony Mackie explains what Captain America represents for him:
“Captain America represents a lot of different things & I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations. It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity.”
(Source:… pic.twitter.com/d5bvqIbreF
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 28, 2025
“For me, Captain America represents a lot of different things and I don’t think the term, you know, ‘America’, should be one of those representations,” Mackie said.
The actor attempted to elaborate on what the character meant to him.
“It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity,” he continued. “Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”
The origin story of Captain America was a would-be Army enlistee that was rejected due to his size. He later received a serum that transformed him into a “super solider” and then joined the Army.
People quickly took to social media after the clip went viral.
“Disney needs to pull him off the promotional circuit for this movie,” one user wrote. “His political opinions have clearly overshadowed his understanding about the character, because like it or not a character with the name ‘America’ in it, with a costume based on the American flag, sure represents America.”
Captain America is often depicted in a suit which sports red, white and blue.
Political commentator Dan Bongino blasted the comments.
“Another s**t movie I won’t be seeing,” he wrote.
Disney previously faced backlash after comments circulated in 2023 where Rachel Zegler, the lead in the new Snow White film, decided to criticize the beloved classic.
“The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,” she said at the time. “There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.”
