Donald Glover Slams ‘Whack’ Claims His Show ‘Atlanta’ Doesn’t Appeal To A Black Audience: ‘I’m Nothing Without My People’

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Donald Glover isn’t happy with people criticizing his FX series “Atlanta,” after coming across comments from fans who say the show is “only for white people.” The 38-year-old, who has earned himself several awards and plenty of praise for the genre-defying comedy, certainly hasn’t been immune to criticism from those who feel the show does not relate to a Black audience.

Clearly frustrated by the remark, Donald addressed the matter at the Television Critics Association panel on Tuesday, where he said, “I do a lot of this s— for the people. So if you’re sitting there being like, ‘Oh, this is misogynoir,’ I’m wondering why you think that and why you think I feel that way when I’m nothing without my people.”

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The “Redbone” rapper, who directs, writes, and stars as Earnest ‘Earn’ Marks in the series, admitted that seeing people denounce his work as something that doesn’t appeal to Black people was “whack” to him, though he believes that much of the negative stance presumably derives from people who are looking to stir a conversation on social media. “I feel this is such a Black show. To say it’s only for white people, it’s like we’re cutting ourselves down which is kind of whack to me.”

Earlier this week, FX announced the release date for the fourth and final series of “Atlanta,” which the premiere set to include the first two episodes of the 10-episode season.

The show, which first premiered back in 2016, is ending its run next year — an announcement that had taken some of its loyal viewers by surprise given how popular “Atlanta” has become over the years and the plentiful awards it has scooped up in the process.

But in an interview in February, Donald, who is perhaps better known by his stage name Childish Gambino, revealed he had actually planned to move on from the drama after wrapping up its second season.

Speaking of his decision to move on from “Atlanta,” he explained, “I feel like the story was always supposed to be what it was, and the story, it really was us. Everybody in that writers’ room, everybody on set, it really was what we were going through and what we talked about, and that’s the only way I like to make things. I think it ends perfectly.”

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“We had been planning that for a while. I’ve done television now for almost two decades, so I’m just, like, I like things ending.”

Seasons three and four were predominantly shot back-to-back in different parts of Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic, and while it’s a bittersweet conclusion to the highly-praised show, Donald believes that the final episode “ends perfectly.”

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