‘YOU CAN’T DEFINE ME’

Morgan Freeman Says Black History Month Is an ‘Insult’

The actor said he also considered the term “African-American” to be an insult, adding, “What does it really mean?”

Morgan Freeman opened up in a rare interview recently about the limitations of terms like “African-American,” and why it’s an “insult” to limit the exploration of Black history to just one month. The 85-year-old told The Sunday Times of London in a profile published Saturday, “Two things I can say publicly that I do not like. Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” He continued, “Also ‘African-American’ is an insult. I don’t subscribe to that title. Black people have had different titles all the way back to the n-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses ‘African-American’. What does it really mean?” The actor, who is currently promoting Zach Braff’s A Good Person, also told The Sunday Times that he is “very envious” of the career that colleague Denzel Washington has enjoyed, saying that he was “in total agreement” with a statement Washington once made that “I’m very proud to be Black, but Black is not all that I am.” Freeman added: “You can’t define me that way.”