Morgan Freeman Says He Detests Black History Month: ‘Makes My Teeth Itch’

Morgan Freeman Explains Why He Detests Black History Month

Veteran actor Morgan Freeman, didn’t hold back while sharing his thoughts on ‘Black History Month’. During a recent interview with Variety, the 87-year-old says he hates the idea of of the celebration.

This is not the first time Morgan will be expressing his feelings about the phrase. During an interview with The Times in April 2023, the actor questioned both “Black History Month” and the term “African-American.”

In a new conversation with Variety on Saturday, June 15, the Academy Award winner explains that he detests the idea of “celebrating” our people’s history in the shortest month of the year.

“I detest it. The mere idea of it. You are going to give me the shortest month in a year? And you are going to celebrate ‘my’ history?! This whole idea makes my teeth itch. It’s not right,” Freeman said.

Morgan Freeman / Instagram

“My history is American history. It’s the one thing in this world I am interested in, beyond making money, having a good time and getting enough sleep,” the prolific actor added.

The Shawshank Redemption star also spoke about executive producing the new Civil War series The Gray House, which opened at the festival over the weekend.

During his 2023 interview with Times, he said: “Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month… Also ‘African-American’ is an insult. I don’t subscribe to that title.”

Morgan continued, “Black people have had different titles all the way back to the N-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses ‘African-American’.”

“What does it really mean? Most black people in this part of the world are mongrels. You say Africa as if it’s a country when it’s a continent, like Europe,” he added.