—u/daschle04

“For me, it was the shouting of ‘Kill the n*****, kill the n*****’ while pelting the rocks at fourth graders that bothered me.”

—u/diadem

“He also said, ‘If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.’ About the 9/11 attacks.”

—pmfevil99

Some more info:  When Wahlberg was 15, he was found guilty of violating civil rights after reportedly chasing and throwing rocks at Black children with his friends, yelling, “Kill the n*****s.” Then, when he was 17, he attacked two Vietnamese-Americans, one of whom was a veteran. According to officers, he knocked one out and punched the other while calling them racial slurs. He was high on PCP at the time. Wahlberg claimed the latter attacks had nothing to do with race, but as he had previously been found guilty of violating civil rights for the former attacks, he was found in contempt of court. He was sentenced to two years in prison but only served under two months.

After becoming famous, Wahlberg sought a pardon for the attack that landed him in jail, writing, “I am deeply sorry for the actions that I took on the night of April 8, 1988, as well as for any lasting damage that I may have caused the victims. Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others.” While he eventually dropped the pardon bid, he claimed in 2020 that he really had changed, “I took it upon myself to own up to my mistakes and go against the grain and not be a part of the gang anymore – to say that I was going to go and do my own thing.”

One of the men Wahlberg attacked, Johnny Trinh, supported Wahlberg in receiving a pardon, saying, “He was young and reckless, but I forgive him now. Everyone deserves another chance.” In contrast, one of the young children Wahlberg harassed, Kristyn Atwood, said, “I don’t really care who he is. It doesn’t make him any exception. If you’re a racist, you’re always going to be a racist. And for him to want to erase it, I just think it’s wrong.”

As for Wahlberg’s remarks on 9/11, he later apologized, calling his comments “ridiculous … irresponsible … [and] insensitive.”