What did Marlon Wayans say about the Montgomery Brawl? Actor's remarks labeled disappointing, trigger online backlash

Actor-comedian Marlon Wayans of The Wayan Bros. fame found himself embroiled in controversy on Monday, August 7, 2023.

Marlon took to Instagram on Monday to post a video that shows only Black men confronting a group of White people in reference to the Montgomery Riverfront brawl that happened over the weekend. Marlon Wayan’s post was slammed by netizens as he reportedly didn't post the original video that would explain the incident in context.

The controversial incident took place on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at around 7 pm, in Montgomery, Alabama. An African American dockyard worker approached the occupants of a pontoon boat that was blocking the parking space of an incoming riverfront boat packed with passengers.

When the on-duty security guard asked them to move their boat, the group, which mostly comprised of white people, refused to do so. Additionally, they reportedly began to harass the man, first verbally and then physically. When police arrived on the scene, they took the white individuals into custody for attacking the man who was just "doing his job."

Later, when they saw the white individuals jump the black man, several witnesses from the scene came to help the dockyard worker. These people were mostly comprised of African American men, one of whom even swam to the shore to help him. All of this was recorded on videos, a lot of which went viral on social media.

However, Marlon Wayans allegedly removed a significant portion of the footage in the video he uploaded. The video showed three black men confronting the group of white people, and a massive fistfight taking place thereafter. He even captioned his post:

“Let’s all just be love NOT war.”

As soon as his post became viral, netizens condemned it saying that it slams the actions of the Black community standing up for each other, which is otherwise deemed as the right thing to do. They even called out Marlon Wayans for failing to stick by his own community.

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“Marlon Wayans so disappointing”: Comedian earns online criticism for posting an out-of-context video of the Montgomery brawl

On Monday, Marlon Wayans took to Instagram to post a portion of a viral video clip that showed white people jumping a black security guard on the docks. While clips of the incident were widely shared by people, these were clips that showed the whole incident instead of just the part that the comedian had shared.

In the out-of-context video shared on Instagram, black men are seen confronting a group of white individuals. However, the fact was that it was them coming to the defense of the dock worker who was first harassed, leading to a racial brawl.

Before writing his message of spreading love, in his caption, Marlon Wayans also said:

“How ‘bout we NOT ‘try that in a small town’….Sh*t silly bro….”

His caption along with the clipping seemed to have angered the internet which has deemed it as controversial and offensive to the black community. Netizens said that they believe that Marlon Wayans' video seemed like anti-black content. Meanwhile, others also criticized him for quoting country singer Jason Aldean's controversial song Try That In a Small Town. The song is dubbed as both racist and pro-lynching.

Some even think that instead of defending his own community, he criticized them and even chose to ignore the actual incident.

As of writing this article, Marlon Wayans has not commented on the backlash.

After the Montgomery brawl, the Montgomery Police Department arrived on the scene and put the instigators in detention. Several people were also arrested and at present four active warrants are out. As per Atlanta Blackstar, the matter is currently under investigation and public footage as well as surveillance cameras are being reviewed to make further arrests.

The mayor of Montgomery Steven Reed also assured people in a press conference that justice will be served. He said that those who were really involved in the brawl will be held accountable.

While police have not yet revealed any names of the suspects, social media users dug up the names of all the white people involved in the brawl. They reportedly are Steve Todd, Rachel Faulkner Todd, Catherine Martin, Anna Blake Langford, Mary Elizabeth Todd, Allen Todd, and Chase Shipman.

The last name on the list has been identified as the owner of Vasser’s Mini Mart in Selma, Alabama. Selma Times Journal reported that the group was all part of a family boating trip from Selma to Montgomery.