Heres’ why Apple cancelled star-studded premiere of ‘The Banker’

Nov 21, 2019

We were all geared up to attend the premiere of The Banker starring Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson until we learned the event was cancelled.

It turns out Apple pulled the plug on the star-studded event because they learned of some serious issues surrounding the son of the film’s subject

“Last week some concerns surrounding the film were brought to our attention. We, along with the filmmakers, need some time to look into these matters and determine the best next steps,” Apple said in a statement.

FIRST LOOK: Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Nia Long star in ‘The Banker’

The film that also features Nia Long was supposed to be the tech company’s first foray into the film world and was set to debut on Apple+ on December 6.

Peep the official description:

Based on a true story, The Banker centers on revolutionary businessmen Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson), who devise an audacious and risky plan to take on the racist establishment of the 1960s by helping other African Americans pursue the American dream of homeownership. Along with Garret’s wife Eunice (Nia Long), they train a working-class white man, Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), to pose as the rich and privileged face of their burgeoning real estate and banking empire–while Garrett and Morris pose as a janitor and a chauffeur. Their success ultimately draws the attention of the federal government, which threatens everything the four have built.

According to reports, the “concerns” center on sexual abuse allegations made against Garrett’s real-life son, Bernard, Jr. by two of his half-sisters, Cynthia and Sheila Garrett.

According to THR:

Garrett Jr.’s half-sisters, roughly 15 years his junior, have recently made Apple aware of their claim that when he was a young man living in their home, he sexually molested them over the course of a few years. The sisters made the claim in connection with separate allegations that the timeline of the film was tweaked in order to leave the girls and their mother out of the story and instead feature Bernard Garrett Sr.’s first wife, even though he had already divorced her by the time of some of the events depicted in the film.

Yikes.