Franklin Leonard Sets the Record Straight on Sinners Mischaracterization with Substack Launch

In a surprising move, Franklin Leonard decided to launch his Substack newsletter earlier than planned on Thursday, inspired by a recent podcast moment from Matt Belloni's "The Town" that sparked a mischaracterization of his comments regarding the film "Sinners."

Leonard, who was not planning to launch his newsletter this week, acted quickly after a podcast episode from Monday's "The Town" incorrectly recalled him calling studio execs "racists" during a previous conversation about the box office performance of Ryan Coogler's "Sinners." In his debut Substack post, Leonard addressed the mischaracterization and clarified that he had never called anyone "racist" during the April episode of "The Town." Instead, he had used data from a McKinsey study to call out the underinvestment in Black films.

Belloni, who hosts the podcast, has since issued corrections to his statement on "The Town," clarifying that Leonard had never actually called anyone racist but had instead used data to point out the lack of investment in Black films. Leonard acknowledged Belloni's apology and expressed appreciation for the clarification.

Despite the apology, Leonard felt it necessary to restate his initial criticism regarding "Sinners" and the media's insistence that international audiences are not interested in Black films. He reiterated that he was aiming to critique systems rather than individuals and that framing a systems-level critique as a personal accusation of racism is a rhetorical sleight of hand that replaces substance with outrage.

Leonard's goal is to continue the conversation about policy and economics in the film industry and to encourage a more nuanced and informed discussion. The post, titled "The Post Franklin Leonard Launches Substack to Clarify He Didn't Call Hollywood Execs Racists Over 'Sinners,'" appeared first on TheWrap.