The controversy surrounding Green Book continues. Now, Nick Vallelonga, who co-wrote and co-produced the film, is under fire due to the resurfacing of anti-Muslim tweets that were in agreement with Donald Trump. If you aren’t familiar, Valleonga is the son of Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, the real-life character in the film portrayed by Viggo Mortensen.
Although the film has been picking up tons of nominations and awards (including nods from the Golden Globes, BAFTA, Critics Choice and more) Green Book has been subject to a lot of backlash, as the family of Dr. Donald Shirley, the talented real-life pianist portrayed by Mahershala Ali, has spoken out against the film.
In November 2015, Nick Vallelonga replied to one of Trump’s tweets and co-signed a false claim from Trump that there were Muslim Americans cheering in Jersey City during September 11.
In the now-deleted tweet, Vallelonga said: “100% correct. Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down. I saw it, as you did, possibly on local CBS news.”
Before Wednesday night, the tweet was live on Valleonga’s Twitter account. After it began recirculating on Twitter, Valleonga deleted the tweet and then took down his whole account.
In an extensive interview with Shadow and Act last month, the Shirley family called Green Book a “symphony of lies,” saying in part, “We know that there are families who have experienced much worse tragedies than this. But at the same time, what could have been for us a celebratory event ended up being something of a disappointment.”
Shadow and Act has reached out to both Universal and Mahershala Ali for comment but we haven’t heard back yet.
Read More of Shadow and Act’s Green Book coverage:
What Viggo Mortensen Got Wrong In His Recent ‘Green Book’ Response To The Shirley Family
How ‘Green Book’ And The Hollywood Machine Swallowed Donald Shirley Whole
‘Green Book’ Is ‘Full of Lies’: Dr. Don Shirley’s Family Speaks Out
