--- title: Nate Parker Criticizes Coverage of His Rape Trial description: Parker discussed the trial on 'The Steve Harvey Show' canonical: https://time.com/4521020/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-06T13:26:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:31.832Z og:title: Nate Parker Criticizes 'Salacious Headline' Coverage of His Rape Trial og:description: 'I think it’s been a tragedy on so many levels' og:url: https://time.com/4521020/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt937cf4027fa96a2b/6988a8e3cf40a8a83fc4510a/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: The Build Series Presents The Cast Of "The Birth Of A Nation" og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nate Parker Criticizes 'Salacious Headline' Coverage of His Rape Trial twitter:description: 'I think it’s been a tragedy on so many levels' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt937cf4027fa96a2b/6988a8e3cf40a8a83fc4510a/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Nate Parker Criticizes Coverage of His Rape Trial: 'I Think It’s Been a Tragedy On So Many Levels' > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Oct 6, 2016 1:26 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 05: Nate Parker attends The Build Series to discuss 'The Birth Of A Nation' at AOL HQ on October 5, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 05: Nate Parker attends The Build Series to discuss 'The Birth Of A Nation' at AOL HQ on October 5, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)Daniel Zuchnik—WireImage/Getty Images by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Oct 6, 2016 1:26 PM UTC Filmmaker and actor Nate Parker has criticized media coverage of his 1999 rape trial and acquittal, the details of which recently resurfaced and embroiled his new historical drama _The Birth of a Nation_ in controversy. In an excerpt from an interview airing Wednesday on _The Steve Harvey Show_, Parker, 36, says he has spent the past month “watching the ticker of headlines, salacious headlines, asking myself, ‘What are these journalists trying to do? Do they care about anyone involved? Do they care about what we’ve been talking about?’ I think it’s been a tragedy on so many levels.” He adds, “I’ve had to ask myself, ‘These headlines, are we in the business of headlines or are we in the business of healing?’ Because I’m trying to do the work. I’m trying to figure out how to navigate this space that I’m walking through as an artist who was falsely accused, vindicated \[in the\] judicial system.” Parker and _The Birth of a Nation_ — which centers on the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in 1831 — had been anointed as surefire awards-season contenders earlier this year, after the film [wowed audiences at Sundance](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/30/birth-nation-sundance-awards) and [sold to Fox Searchlight](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/26/sundance-birth-of-a-nation-fox-searchlight) for a record $17.5 million. But as the film approaches its Oct. 7 release, news reports [have delved into Parker’s past](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/16/birth-nation-nate-parker-rape-trial-release-date) and raised questions about whether it’s possible, or appropriate, to separate a film from its maker. In 1999, Parker and Penn State roommate Jean Celestin (who has a story credit on _Birth of a Nation_) were charged with raping a fellow student while she was unconscious after a night of drinking. Parker was acquitted; Celestin was convicted, but the verdict was later overturned because he received an ineffective defense. Celestin did not receive a new trial. Last month _Variety_ broke the news that Parker and Celestin’s accuser [died by suicide](http://variety.com/2016/film/news/nate-parkers-accuser-committed-suicide-in-2012-her-brother-speaks-out-exclusive-1201838508/) in 2012\. Parker [expressed “profound sorrow”](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/16/birth-nation-nate-parker-rape-accuser-suicide) upon learning of her death but has [faced](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/11/nate-parker-birth-of-a-nation-tiff) continued [questions](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/11/nate-parker-interview-cut-short) and criticisms regarding his past actions and his handling of the present controversy, including his [refusal to apologize](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/03/nate-parker-gma-interview-touches-1999-rape-case). In the _Steve Harvey_ excerpt, Parker says he is trying to channel the controversy into a meaningful discussion about sexual assault. “I can get upset with the media and be mad or I can say, ‘What can come out of this and be productive?’” he says. “One thing the media did by this thing resurfacing, in my opinion, we need to talk about something that is epidemic in America, that no one’s talking about. And if my film or if this moment has to be something that puts our eyes or the spotlight on it, then so be it.” Watch an excerpt from Parker’s interview above. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/05/nate-parker-criticizes-media-coverage-1999-rape-case-steve-harvey) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4521020/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4521020/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism/"},"headline":"Nate Parker Criticizes Coverage of His Rape Trial: 'I Think It’s Been a Tragedy On So Many Levels'","datePublished":"2016-10-06T13:26:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:31.832Z","description":"Parker discussed the trial on 'The Steve Harvey Show'","url":"https://time.com/4521020/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt937cf4027fa96a2b/6988a8e3cf40a8a83fc4510a/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt937cf4027fa96a2b/6988a8e3cf40a8a83fc4510a/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Build Series Presents The Cast Of \"The Birth Of A Nation\"","caption":"The Build Series Presents The Cast Of \"The Birth Of A Nation\"","creditText":"Daniel Zuchnik—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4521020/nate-parker-rape-trial-media-coverage-criticism/","name":"Nate Parker Criticizes Coverage of His Rape Trial: 'I Think It’s Been a Tragedy On So Many Levels'"}}]}] ```