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On Monday, Birth of a Nation writer, director, and star Nate Parker stopped by Good Morning America, during which he discussed the controversy surrounding his film, as well as Sunday night’s edition of 60 Minutes.

“I said it last night, I was falsely accused,” he told Robin Roberts. “I was proven innocent and I’m not going to apologize for that.”

He added, I think the important thing, you know, is this isn’t about me. The story of Nat Turner as an American, as American people, the story about a man who was erased from history, at some point. I think that’s where our focus should be.”

As previously reported, Parker and Birth of a Nation co-writer Jean Celestin were accused of raping a Penn State classmate in 1999. Parker, who maintained that the sex was consensual, was acquitted. Celestin was convicted, and the conviction was later appealed. The accuser committed suicide in 2012.

During his Sunday evening segment on 60 Minutes, Parker expressed that while he feels terribly about the turn of events, he does not feel apologetic.

“I do think it’s tragic, so much of what’s happened. And the fact that the family’s had to endure with respect to this woman not being here,” he told Anderson Cooper. “I was falsely accused. You know, I went to court. And I sat in trial. You know, I was vindicated. I was proven innocent. And I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here. I feel terrible that her family had to deal with that. But as I sit here, an apology is, no.”

SOURCE: Facebook, VIBE | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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