Fox Searchlight is standing behind Nate Parker — the writer, director and star of its award-season hopeful “The Birth of a Nation” — in the face of media reports about a 1999 rape case from his time as a student at Penn State University.
“Fox Searchlight is aware of the incident that occurred while Nate Parker was at Penn State,” the studio said in a statement on Tuesday. “We also know that he was found innocent and cleared of all charges. We stand behind Nate and are proud to help bring this important and powerful story to the screen.”
Parker’s vision of Nat Turner’s historic slave rebellion in 1831 netted him universal praise at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and an historic $17.5 million acquisitions price tag from Fox Searchlight.
Also Read: Nate Parker Called Out, Defended on Twitter for Having White Wife
The resurfacing of the incident from Parker’s past thus comes at an awkward time as his movie gears up for a roll-out to media and awards voters, with a planned appearance at next month’s Toronto Film Festival.
A studio rep confirmed that it still plans to bring Parker to Toronto and have him actively promoting the film there.
Parker was acquitted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old female student in 2001.
But his close friend and “Birth” co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin was convicted of sexually assaulting the same woman in the incident, and was sentenced to six months in jail. Celestin later appealed the verdict, but the unnamed woman reportedly would not return to testify in the case so charges were dropped.
The woman accuser died in 2012 in an apparent suicide, according to media reports.
Sundance 2016: Photos from TheWrap's Portrait Studio Presented by KIA (Photos)
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Ellen Page / Actress / "Tallulah"
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Markees Christmas / Actor / "Morris From America"
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Carla Juri / Actress / "Morris From America"
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Craig Robinson / Actor / "Morris From America"
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Craig Robinson & Markees Christmas / Actors / "Morris From America"
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Abigail Spencer / Actress / "Rectify"
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Abigail Spencer / Actress / "Rectify"
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Abigail Spencer / Actress / "Rectify"
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Ant Timpson, Tim League / Producers / "The Greasy Strangler"
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Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, Elijah Wood / Producers / "The Greasy Strangler"
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Danny DeVito / Actor / "Wiener-Dog"
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Danny DeVito / Actor / "Wiener-Dog"
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Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Ben Schnetzer / Actor / "Goat"
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Nick Jonas / Actor / "Goat"
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Nick Jonas / Actor / "Goat"
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Austin Lyon, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper, Danny Flaherty, Jake Picking, Brock Yurich, Ben Schnetzer / Actors / "Goat"
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Nick Jonas & Ben Schnetzer / Actors / "Goat"
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Riley Keough / Actress / “Lovesong,” "The Girlfriend Experience"
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John Legend / Producer / “Underground”
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John Legend, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Alano Miller, Jessica De Gouw, Aldis Hodge / Producer & Cast / “Underground”
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Aldis Hodge / Actor / “Underground”
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Emma Greenwell / Actress / “Love and Friendship”
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Timothy Simons / Actor / "Christine"
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Michael C. Hall / Actor / “Christine”
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Michael C. Hall / Actor / “Christine”
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Andre Hyland / Director & Writer / “The 4th”
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AnnaLynne McCord / Actress / “Trash Fire”
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Adrian Grenier, Angela Trimbur, AnnaLynne McCord, Richard Bates Jr. / Cast and Director/Writer / “Trash Fire”
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Matt Ross / Director/Writer / “Captain Fantastic”
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Viggo Mortensen / Actor / “Captain Fantastic”
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Rob Zombie / Director, Producer, & Writer / “31”
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Rob and Sheri Moon Zombie / Writer, Director and Actress / "31"
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Daniel Radcliffe / Actor / “Swiss Army Man”
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Norman Lear / Subject / “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You”
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Anderson Cooper / Journalist & Subject / “Nothing Left Unsaid”
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Lily-Rose Melody Depp / Actress / “Yoga Hosers”
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Lily-Rose Depp / Actress / "Yoga Hosers"
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Austin Butler / Actor / “Yoga Hosers”
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Spike Lee / Director / “Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall”
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Natasha Lyonne / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Jenny Slate / Actress / “Joshy”
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Jenni Konner, Lena Dunham, & Jason Benjamin / Producers & Director / “Suited”
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Katie Couric / Producer / “Under the Gun”
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Jena Malone, Riley Keough, So Yong Kim, Ryan Eggold / Actresses, Director/Writer/Editor, & Actor / “Lovesong”
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Nate Parker / Actor / "The Birth of a Nation"
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Sarah Gadon / Actress / "Indignation"
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Sarah Gadon / Actress / "Indignation"
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Clea DuVall / Director / "The Intervention"
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Amy Seimetz / Actress / "The Girlfriend Experience"
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Kyle Chandler / Actor / "Manchester By the Sea"
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Thomas Middleditch / Actor / "Joshy"
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Lucas Hedges / Actor / "Manchester By the Sea"
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Kevin Smith / Writer & Director / "Yoga Hosers"
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Harley Quinn Smith / Actress / "Yoga Hosers"
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Alison Brie / Actress / "Joshy"
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Jena Malone / Actress / “Lovesong”
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Mary Stuart Masterson / Actress / "As You Are"
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Justin Long / Actor / "Yoga Hosers"
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Austin Lyon / Actor / "Goat"
Sundance 2016: Ellen Page, Craig Robinson, Nick Jonas, Abigail Spencer and Danny DeVito are among the stars who sit for our camera
Ellen Page / Actress / "Tallulah"
Photos by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap