‘Am I Racist?’ Celebrates One Year: How Matt Walsh’s One Question Exposed The DEI Grift

One year ago, Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh asked a question that most Americans dared not say out loud: “Am I racist?”

That simple yet provocative question became the title of his documentary, which helped to expose the grift of America’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) industry. What began as a satirical inquiry quickly evolved into a defining cultural moment. 

A year after “Am I Racist?” was released on DailyWire+, it remains one of the most significant and successful pieces of documentary filmmaking in recent history. The film continues to expose hypocrisy, invite reflection, and shake up the status quo like never before. 

WATCH ‘AM I RACIST?’ ON DAILYWIRE+

When the film premiered last fall, fans were delighted with the unexpected humor that came from simply exposing lies. “Am I Racist?” took the DEI movement’s own language, placed it under a microscope, and dared to ask if the people profiting from America’s obsession with race were really solving anything at all.

Walsh interviewed well-known DEI advocates such as Saira Rao and Robin DiAngelo. Some of the comments made by the race-obsessed activists would almost be unbelievable if they hadn’t been filmed and turned into a documentary for the world to see. 

In one scene, Walsh, sporting a man bun, convinces DiAngelo that she had a “powerful opportunity” to display her commitment to anti-racism by giving his black producer, Ben, money from her purse.

Another scene features Rao lecturing her “Race to Dinner” guests about how racist they are. In his disguise, Walsh joins the conversation and makes some hilariously ridiculous remarks that the guests go along with. Rao later called “Am I Racist?” a “fascist Nazi white supremacy film.”

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That premise struck a chord not only with conservatives, but also with a surprising number of viewers across the political spectrum who recognized the absurdity of the movement.

The results spoke for themselves. “Am I Racist?” became the top-grossing documentary of the past decade, earning over $12 million domestically after it hit theaters a month before its release on DailyWire+. Critics largely refused to review it, yet audiences responded by watching it anyway. It was one of only 15 documentaries ever to open in over 1,500 theaters and earned the third-highest opening day gross for a documentary in the last decade.

“Am I Racist?” was predictably snubbed from the Oscar shortlist despite the film’s record-breaking box office success and massive cultural influence. 

The film’s near-perfect audience score coupled with a conspicuous silence from the mainstream press only proved Walsh’s point. While regular people were ready to have an honest conversation about race, power, and the industry profiting on outrage, the mainstream media who had been supporting this nonsense wasn’t ready to take a look in the mirror.

The film’s success wasn’t an accident. It’s proof that when you strip away buzzwords, Americans still crave truth more than comforting lies.That statement holds up even more today.

Twelve months later, the same institutions satirized in “Am I Racist?” are deeply entrenched in many cases, but slowly people are starting to wake up. While DEI initiatives remain fixtures in corporate and academic life, there have also been mass layoffs and elimination of entire departments devoted to identity politics. Even the White House clamped down on DEI being pushed in the federal government and at public schools and universities after President Donald Trump was sworn into office earlier this year.

Walsh’s approach was unorthodox but effective. He didn’t lecture; he listened. He attended DEI training sessions, spoke directly with self-proclaimed “experts,” and treated their jargon with seriousness, allowing the experts to prove out their ineptitude onscreen. Walsh wasn’t mocking them. He was giving them a platform to express their beliefs and letting the results speak for themselves.  

The genius of the documentary lay in its tone. The humor served a purpose as it helped to reveal how the modern language of “anti-racism” often conceals deeper contradictions. What Walsh uncovered was not an effort to heal division, but a lucrative enterprise that profits from keeping it alive.

In January, The Daily Wire released “Clearing the A.I.R.: The Making of Am I Racist?,” a companion film that pulls back the curtain on how a deceptively simple question became one of the year’s most challenging cultural commentaries. Those behind-the-scenes insights only deepened public appreciation for the documentary’s impact, not merely as entertainment, but as a jumping off point for a cultural movement.

What distinguishes “Am I Racist” from other documentaries is its refusal to moralize. Walsh does not tell the viewer what to think. Instead, he shows them the DEI industry operating in real time and allows viewers to draw their own conclusions.

That restraint is rare in modern media, and it’s part of why the film continues to resonate. At its core, “Am I Racist?” isn’t just about race, and it’s not a political statement either. It’s about discovering the truth and refusing to be quiet. 

The first anniversary of “Am I Racist?” marks more than a milestone for The Daily Wire or for Matt Walsh’s filmography. It represents a pivotal shift in how the public tackles big ideas that progressive institutions have taken for granted far too long.

The DEI establishment will not vanish overnight, nor will the culture wars end anytime soon. But “Am I Racist?” has shown what’s possible when conservative filmmakers aren’t afraid to ask the questions you’re not allowed to ask.