Earlier this month, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson found himself at the center of a controversy and it stemmed from the unlikeliest of places — the new War for the Planet of the Apes film.
Mckesson took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction with the film because he thought one of the apes, specifically Bad Ape, was made in his image. The animal donned a blue vest — an item of clothing that has become synonymous with Mckesson's brand.
Some came to Mckesson's defense, others noted that Bad Ape was probably in a vest as a way of paying homage to the original Apes film, and many pointed out that the franchise has long been interpreted as a form of racial allegory that demonstrates "fear of the other," and the relationship between black and white people in the US.
Mckesson later tweeted that he had been misinformed and that's why he deleted his earlier tweets.
Now, with the #PlanetOfTheApes poster & toy, I was contacted by folks within Hollywood who thought there was an issue, hence those tweets.