The production company behind Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, is apologizing to its executive producer, Black Panther actress Letitia Wright, for not informing her that conservative outlet The Daily Wire was distributing and marketing the movie.
"Letitia Wright has championed this project with us, even choosing not to accept compensation for the sake of the cause," director Josh Weigel and producer Rebekah Weigel of Peacetime Productions said in a statement Friday.
"We are grateful for all she has done, and regret she wasn't informed about the partnership with The Daily Wire. That was not handled well, and we apologize for putting her in this position."
The movie tells the true story of a Christian church in Texas whose members adopted more than 70 hard-to-place foster children.
The controversy that spurred the apology began Sunday, three days after the movie opened in theaters, when Wright posted on Instagram that she was blindsided by The Daily Wire's involvement.
"After we completed production of the film, Angel Studios were brought on board to handle its distribution and they later partnered with The Daily Wire. That was not my decision, and I was not given an update or made aware of this decision."
Her statement came a few days after The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh claimed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "leftists are trying to stop Christians from saving more children."
"I am in no way aligned or affiliated with The Daily Wire," Wright wrote on Instagram. "I do not condone using this beautiful film for divisive political purposes. That is not why I joined the project."
Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of The Daily Wire, did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment, though he previously told the Daily Mail that Wright's comments were the result of "the intolerance of the modern left."
Likewise, conservatives across social media bashed Wright, and Hollywood's long-standing liberal bent, for allegedly insisting on conformity within its ranks. Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok posted to X on Thursday: "They came after producer Letitia Wright who bent the knee to the woke mob and distanced herself from the movie."
Angel Studios, which produced the hit film Sound of Freedom that also ran into a buzz saw of controversy over a variety of accusations, acquired Sound of Hope from Peacetree, then partnered with The Daily Wire.
On Friday, The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles said in a podcast that "the left would rather harm conservatives, disassociate from conservatives, than help foster kids."
He also tied the controversy into Black Lives Matter protests, alleging that the left "would rather burn the country to the ground than see (The Daily Wire) flourish," he said.
Some were also noting that Wright should have been aware of The Daily Wire's involvement, since she posed on the red carpet at the Atlanta premiere on July 3 in front of a poster containing the outlet's logo.
Ben Shapiro, who cocreated The Daily Wire, said of Wright on a podcast posted to X on Friday: "Who does she think is making this partisan? We certainly have not ... this is a human-rights issue for children. What is the blowback that she has received?"
Wright did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment.
Nick Searcy, one of the most outspoken conservative actors in the industry and the father of an adopted son, told Newsweek that "the left has poisoned these poor idiotic Democrats ... to the point where they can't even form alliances with people who are on their side. It's pathetic."
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Paul Bond has been a journalist for three decades. Prior to joining Newsweek he was with The Hollywood Reporter. He ... Read more
