Matt Walsh Blasts Critics’ Refusal To Review ‘Am I Racist?’ Despite Its Box Office Success

“Am I Racist?” star Matt Walsh posted a lengthy explanation on X detailing responses, or lack thereof, from critics who were sent copies of the film, but refused to review it.

The Daily Wire documentary debuted at number four at the box office alongside major Hollywood productions with much higher production and marketing budgets. “Am I Racist?” currently has a 99% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is Certified Hot on the site’s popcorn meter, which means at least 500 of those reviews come from verified ticket purchasers.

One of these things is not like the others pic.twitter.com/4cQVSQXTX2

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 16, 2024

Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!

Meanwhile, there is not one review from a mainstream critic.

9/ “Am I Racist?” has been so successful precisely because we didn’t churn out another safe, predictable Hollywood-style film. If you haven’t watched the movie that mainstream critics desperately don’t want you to see, you can get your tickets now: https://t.co/iJv1cNRoWV.

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 16, 2024

Walsh wrote in the post, “Many have asked how it’s possible that our new film ‘Am I Racist?’ hasn’t been reviewed by a single mainstream critic, even with a 99% audience score, a ‘Verified Hot’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a top 5 box office debut. Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes.”

“Beginning in mid-August, we reached out to dozens of mainstream outlets, offering an early screener of the film. Those outlets included [Time], [Associated Press], [IndieWire], [Variety], [The Hollywood Reporter], [The New York Times], [The New Yorker], and many others,” the post thread continued. “We followed up to virtual silence.”

“We did, however, receive a flurry of unprofessional emails from independent critics who were enraged we’d even ask them to review the film. One of them wrote that he won’t waste any ‘professional time’ on a movie opening in over 1,500 theaters because I was involved,” Walsh wrote alongside a screenshot of the reply.

He also shared a response from another critic who wrote, “You’d have to strap me to a chair like Malcolm McDowell to get me to watch this thing.”

Another said, “Ew. Take me off of this list.”

The X thread went on to say, “After it was clear ‘Am I Racist?’ was a hit, [Variety] attempted to cover for this oversight with a claim that Daily Wire ‘did not screen [the movie] for critics.’ We’ve asked them to correct this, they have not. They still haven’t posted a review, but I hope they do.”

“A few other mainstream outlets have since requested screeners but have yet to publish a review,” Walsh went on. “One major mainstream outlet even acknowledged we had attempted to get them an advance screener but said the film had ‘slipped through the cracks.'”

“This isn’t a mistake. You’d be hard-pressed to find another film that opened in >1,500 theaters that was completely snubbed by mainstream critics. If ‘Am I Racist?’ were terrible, these outlets could have reviewed it & trashed it. But the reality is they’re afraid of it,” he continued.

“‘Am I Racist?’ has been so successful precisely because we didn’t churn out another safe, predictable Hollywood-style film. If you haven’t watched the movie that mainstream critics desperately don’t want you to see, you can get your tickets now: amiracist.com.”

Walsh concluded by revealing that Rolling Stone was one of the first outlets to request a screener back in July, but noted how they hadn’t posted a review yet.

The podcast host said he was looking forward to their review “most of all” because of a hit piece they posted on Walsh’s “What Is a Woman?” back in 2022, which was written without the critic ever seeing the film. Walsh shared a screenshot of the movie link sent to that writer showing it was 0% watched.

Several independent reviewers did post their reactions to the movie, which were overwhelmingly positive. YouTube star Jeremy Jahns also posted a review, which resulted in many of his followers openly mocking and unfollowing him, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

“Am I Racist?” is currently available in theaters. Get your tickets now at amiracist.com.