5/8 6:54 AM PT -- 5/8 -- LaKeith Stanfield tells TMZ ... "Yesterday I entered an online chat room on ClubHouse about the teachings of Louis Farrakhan. When the room’s participants noticed me, I was quickly made a moderator of this room. At some point during the dialogue the discussion took a very negative turn when several users made abhorrent anti-Semitic statements and at that point, I should have either shut down the discussion or removed myself from it entirely. I condemn hate speech and discriminatory views of every kind. I unconditionally apologize for what went on in that chat room, and for allowing my presence there to give a platform to hate speech. I am not an anti-Semite nor do I condone any of the beliefs discussed in that chat room."
LaKeith Stanfield's under fire for his involvement in a Clubhouse discussion about Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitism that devolved into a cesspool of hateful conspiracy theories and comments about Jewish people.
The recently Oscar-nominated actor was a moderator for a discussion on the Clubhouse app Wednesday night, and although he's not accused of spewing any anti-Semitic speech himself ... many are outraged he did nothing to speak out against it either.
The Clubhouse discussion Stanfield was monitoring began when another chat -- titled, "Did Min. Farrakhan Tarnish His Legacy by Being Antisemitic?" -- got shut down by its moderator for becoming too inflammatory.
Very interesting choice, LaKeith Stanfield. Always interesting to see who stands by and co-signs vile Jew hatred. pic.twitter.com/kh8ABvKkBi
— michaela 👩🏻💻 (@michaelahirsh) May 5, 2021
Instead of ending the convo, someone launched the second room titled, "Someone Ended the Room About Farrakhan" ... and that's where things got very disturbing, with one participant describing comments as "worse than things that I’ve read or heard about neo-Nazis saying."
When a Jewish woman in the room confronted Stanfield about why he was allowing the hate speech to continue unchecked, he skirted the issue and implied he was trying to remain neutral ... according to The Daily Beast.
For some people in the room that was inexcusable behavior from an influential Hollywood star with 79,000 followers on the Clubhouse app ... and they question his intentions.
Now, LaKeith did join another Clubhouse chat Thursday moderated by a panel of Jewish educators who wanted to address the hate speech they had witnessed ... and he admitted he fell short moderating.
He said if he continues to choose to be a moderator in a certain room, he needs to pay "attention to what is actually being discussed and determine if that’s a discussion that you really want to get into."
Stanfield also explained he lacked knowledge about "the origins of Judaism in Jewishness," but suggested he enjoys Clubhouse because he learns a lot from it.
He said ... "I've been in a couple rooms where a lot of s**t has been discussed and talked about, very heightened emotional states. It’s been very enlightening and interesting to me."
LaKeith's response was well-received within the room. Outside of it, however, you gotta wonder how a 29-year-old man didn't see the grossly anti-Semitic remarks for what they are ... hate speech.
Originally Published -- 5/7 -- 4:04 PM PT