‘Django Actress’ Who Cried Racism Offers Court-Ordered Non-Apology to Arresting Officers

AP Photo/KABC-TV
AP Photo/KABC-TV

Django Unchained actress Daniele Watts and her boyfriend penned a court-ordered apology letter to the officers she accused of racism last year after the two were found being overly affectionate in a public parking lot.

But according to the text of the letter, first obtained by TMZ, Watts seemingly hardly apologized at all.

“I want to acknowledge that when we met last September, I allowed fear, shame and anxiety to prevent me from relating to you in a peaceful way,” the couple opened their letter, which they were required to write as part of a plea of no contest to disturbing the peace charges in May. “Hopefully you can forgive the fact that my heightened emotions disturbed what might otherwise have been a carefree stop on your way to a nice cup of coffee.”

“With all the recent news coverage on the issue of biased policing, we probably all have a clearer understanding of the subtle – and often bizarre – ways that racial conflict continues to haunt many people in America. Sgt. Parker, when you said, sarcastically, ‘Thank you for bringing up the race card, I never hear that,’ I felt provoked because I had previously encountered many disheartening experiences related to ‘being black’ both in my personal life and as reflected in society overall. Your willingness to dismiss my experience with sarcasm was hurtful, and caused me to respond defensively.

Looking on the brighter side, we do believe that the public discourse that surrounded our encounter was beneficial as it provided an opportunity for the public to discuss and more deeply understand the ‘taboo’ subject of interracial relationships. As you may know, interracial marriage was only made legal in the United States in 1967, and for many, it is still a very sensitive issue. I am grateful for our meeting because it allowed me to examine the shame and self-hatred I had been bottling inside, and release it.”

“We truly appreciate [the] role you’ve played in bringing awareness to so many issues,” the couple closed the letter.

But the couple didn’t stop there; according to TMZ, they also wrote a letter to the employees of the office building who had originally called the cops after witnessing the couple allegedly having sex in a car in the building’s parking lot.

“We are truly sorry that our expression of love caused such a disturbance to your lives that you felt it was threatening enough to warrant police involvement,” the couple wrote. “I felt deeply hurt and ashamed by your judgements, which felt very unfair at the time, and provoked me to react to police presence in a heightened way – which may have further disturbed your working environment. For all disturbances, we ask for your forgiveness and understanding.”

While Watts simply signed her name on the letters, her boyfriend Brian James Lucas added “aka Chef Be*Live aka The Original RawkStar” to his signature.

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