Am I Racist fans notice something strange about documentary’s Rotten Tomatoes score

Kayla Harrington
Matt Walsh in Am I Racist

Am I Racist, the satirical documentary from right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh, has an incredibly high critic score despite not being featured heavily in the mainstream.

2024 has been quite the year for documentaries, from the hard-to-look-away-from Chimp Crazy to the unbelievably harrowing Worst Ex Ever.

Now, the genre has added one more addition that has risen to prominence amongst its core audience. That movie is Matt Walsh’s Am I Racist.

While the right-wing podcaster’s latest dabbling in the documentary space is sitting at an impressive 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, many fans have noticed that the movie has been boycotted by major media platforms.

Described as a mockumentary in the style of Borat, Am I Racist sees Walsh embark on a pseudo journey of self-discovery as he tries to uncover if he’s secretly racist or not by engaging in various offensive public stunts.

Despite the film having some negative connotations under the surface, Am I Racist has been a huge hit with audiences, earning it a certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.

However, Walsh’s latest project has not been promoted by many mainstream outlets, but this could be due to Walsh and his crew engaging in less than ethical practices.

Matt Walsh in Am I Racist

Author Robin DiAngelo, who is the mind behind the paper titled  “White Fragility” or a “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves,” has revealed Walsh tricked her into appearing in the doc and paying “reparations” to his black producer.

“When I arrived for the interview, a few things felt off. The grips would not make eye contact with me and the interviewer, who was introduced as ‘Matt,’ appeared to be wearing an ill-fitting wig,” DiAngelo wrote on her website. “I was so unsettled by the way Matt manipulated this last scene that I emailed the contact person to explain that this scene was not an example of reparations and could mislead viewers.

“I asked that they not use it in the film and shared several resources overviewing legitimate systemic efforts for reparations. He assured me that he understood and that they had not yet decided whether to address reparations. He never again contacted me or answered an email.”

Am I Racist is now showing in select theaters. For more, check out all the other new movies coming out this month and keep up with our guide to the best movies of 2024 so far.