Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation underperformed at the weekend box office, which makes me happy. I’m sure some will say that this is bad news for African-American writer/directors, but I think it should simply be seen as good news for humanity. The African-American community should (hopefully) not claim Parker as one of their much-needed voices in Hollywood, and (JMO) the film’s failures have little to do with Parker’s race and everything to do with his 1999 rape trial and his terrible attempts at explaining himself. Fox Searchlight was tenuously hopeful that The Birth of a Nation would open wide with a $10 million box office – it’s looking more like a $7.5 million box office, if that.

Meanwhile, THR ran a behind-the-scenes piece on Parker’s failure to adequately speak about himself without coming across like a privileged, creepy, offensive alleged rapist. There is one funny story about Nate Parker: he was too dumb to take Oprah Winfrey’s advice. So everything that’s happened over the past few months should be seen as Oprah’s Revenge.

In the beginning, there was Oprah. Winfrey, along with her friend and CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King, was one of the first people to see Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation outside of a festival setting. The women were so enthusiastic that they sent the filmmaker a Feb. 1 Instagram video congratulating him. In August, when news reports began to focus on the 1999 rape charges involving Parker and his Birth of a Nation collaborator, Jean Celestin, Winfrey initially seemed ready to help.

Sources say Winfrey suggested Parker address the matter in an appearance with King on her CBS program. But Parker declined. He was angry that what he saw as a consensual, youthful sexual experimentation gone awry had become an issue years later despite his acquittal, and that it was happening just when his Nat Turner passion project was not only finished but positioned as a major Oscar contender.

Since then, Winfrey has remained mum regarding Parker, seemingly depriving the filmmaker of an important voice that might have helped him move past persistent questions that seem to be overshadowing his movie and potentially undermining his career. And Fox Searchlight, which paid a record $17.5 million for the film and hired consultants in an effort to help Parker get on message, is likely shifting its attention this awards season to Jackie, starring Natalie Portman as the former first lady.

[From THR]

Nate Parker might be dumber than Lindsay Lohan! Think about that!! Even Lindsay Lohan TRIED to take Oprah’s advice at some point. Of course, Lindsay screwed it up too, but Parker didn’t even try. Oprah really could have mitigated some of Parker’s PR issues, and Oprah would have given him the soundbyte road map to contextualize the situation. But Parker didn’t want to listen. So now Oprah is staying quiet and letting Parker talk himself out of acclaim. I’m not even a huge believer in Oprah, but if Oprah took the time to give me advice, you better believe I would follow it to the very letter.

Speaking of, THR also says that Fox Searchlight hired seasoned public relations pros to help Parker discuss his rape case in the press, but “They gave him talking points and he just didn’t execute.” Even when Parker was on friendly ground, like his appearance on the Steve Harvey show, Parker screwed it up.

Photos courtesy of WENN.