I know Chad Coleman as the recently departed Tyreese of The Walking Dead. He also played Cutty on The Wire. Coleman recently had a bit of a meltdown on a NY subway train after he overheard two people talking about him. They realized he looked familiar and one of them said “No, we don’t know that n-word.” That seemed to set Coleman off because he then started pacing and yelling loudly to the entire train “My name is Chad L. Coleman. I’m on The Wire, The Walking Dead… Yes I’m an actor… I want to know where my humanitarians are? Where is your humanitarian?!” which makes no sense. I would assume he meant to say “where’s your humanity,” but got the words mixed up. He did correct himself toward the end and said “at the end of the day, where’s the humanitarian in you?” It’s good he clarified, because otherwise it sounded like he asked the passengers where their personal humanitarian was. I would like my own humanitarian, a kind of therapist who caters to my needs, like bringing me food while I talk it out. I guess that’s what moms are for. Coleman needs that kind of humanitarian, but I digress.
Coleman got really mad and hoarse as he yelled “If you need to write about it, if you need to record it get your phone out… tell me what the f you expose, nothing but the truth.” We of course know all this because someone did record it, the video is above and on TMZ. Then Coleman calmed down and the guy taping (presumably) told Coleman that he loved The Wire and that Cutty was the best character. Coleman kept trying to explain himself. He said “I”m saying, ‘here I am. That’s what I do. The stories that I tell… I’m just trying to help move forward, evolve.‘” At the ends he adds “I’m telling you, they will always judge who you are… decide that first.”
He sounded kind of wasted to me, but he later told TMZ he “was not drunk,” that he’s sorry to the other cast of The Walking Dead and also sorry to his family. “He’s not proud he couldn’t control his emotions.”
Coleman told TMZ he had “built up frustration” following the the turmoil in Baltimore. It’s been a bad week for so many people, and if someone did call him the N word his tirade makes more sense. It’s still not excusable though. This makes me sad because I loved him on Walking Dead and I’m mad they killed off his character. Judging from this video, he’s not taking it too well either.
Tyreese was too sensitive to live!!
He’s kinda scary in this video. What I see is a whole bus of people trying not to engage with a man yelling at them for 5 minutes.
Me too. And he does sound kinda wasted. I wonder if his cover story is even true?
It could be a combination of both things.
Is that the only thing you took from this video. How about he had every right to be angry and loud and scary especially if he’s responding to a racist. And the op sounds racially insensitive in this piece. You don’t get to dictate how someone reacts to being called the n word.
I’m a fan of his, I follow him on twitter and have seen quite a few interviews if him. He seems to be a pretty chill guy, I guess someone calling him the n-word sets him off. I don’t blame him but that rant was scary
What kind of fifth circle hell is NYC that people are so indifferent to being in a confined space with someone going all Hulk on them? All of them maintain that blank cow stare, and that one lady doesnt even look up from her book.
Survival.
Seriously. Where do people live that they’ve never seen a person go on a tirade? Must be suburbanites.
Anyway, what is the appropriate reaction to someone losing their shit on public transportation?
Do not engage, don’t catch their eye, don’t give them the attention they’re looking for–that’s kind of how it’s done in a city.
I like how the person next to to person recording just continues to play solitaire on there phone like no biggie.
ExACTly. Feel free to be the person not copping a “blank cow stare,” but get ready for some avid attention from the crazy ranter.
Another tip: if you’re walking past “scary people” be sure to clutch your purse and look warily at them. /s
Exactly! Don’t engage and you might get through it unscathed.
Don’t make eye contact with disturbed people.
You engage with the crazies on public transport, they are more likely to keep going.
Eh that was pretty calm for New York. Besides he wasn’t ranting about anything horrible just not getting enough respect as an actor… We’ve seen worse. Hell Broadway plays have preformed on the trains and it’s not worth looking. Live animals etc. I mean nothing was really going on to look away from your book.
That’s the big apple no one will notice or if they do will not say a word. You could be naked no one will bat an eye. I use to live there for 12 years you get use to not engaging or even looking anyone in the eye.
yeah, i was kinda surprised by that too. But he kinda reminded me of the homeless drunks who would get in their mood swings and start ranting. so maybe it wasn’t a big deal to the people on the train.
Very often homeless people require medication and the crazy behavior is because they are unmedicated. not drunk necessarily
A lot may have recognized him so didn’t think he was some random nut job.
To me, he seemed to be saying “I’ve worked hard my whole life and achieved success and now you’re reducing me to derogatory slur. Why can’t you just see me as a human being?” Or something like that. I don’t know. I haven’t been in shoes, of course, but I can understand how it could just get to you. When those idiots in Hollywood (Amy P. And that guy) were making racist jokes about Obama, I remember wondering what a person has to do to get respect. I mean, he’s president, and still the first thing that came to their pea brains was his race. I can imagine that gets exhausting and maddening. I’m not trying to speak for black people, and I can probably not truly understand, but that’s what I felt when watching him.
Nicely put GNATTY.
That’s exactly how I read the situation. There have definitely been times when I’ve felt like this…when hearing “spic” yelled at me from passing cars, or when getting mistaken for a waitress or maid or cleaning lady. The funnest was when I was mistaken for a cafeteria worker in the faculty house of the college where I work as a professor. I have a Ph.D., and it doesn’t seem to matter because I’m Mexican.
That’s what I think too, Gnatty.
Well said, my friend.
Everything you said. And re the racist Rudin/Pascal jokes, their attitude sheds some light on why the most limited, dimwitted racial stereotypes persist in movies/tv – because some people at the top encourage it.
and truly, i Believe him about the build up, so many of my friends have been having absolute rage meltdowns/depressive posts this week in their social medias, It’s a self care Issue at this point ( staying off the Internet/news) , having to defend themselves, their anger, their people’s anger… just a clusterfuck
EXACTLY. I cannot believe that ANYONE would hold it against him. To be called the N-word in public right after Baltimore is just — I don’t blame him AT ALL. And I seriously question anyone who can’t understand how much this word hurts people of color right now (as opposed to how much it hurts all the time, which is already a ton).
Thank you. And the article says, “It’s still not excusable though.” Um. It totally is.
WhoTF thinks it’s okay to use the N-word?! it’s the most horrible, despicable word in the English language – WHY USE IT??? And in NYC of all places?? It makes me angry even when black people use it. It’s all about people keeping other people down.
Great explanation GNAT. I agree with everything you said. I would have been scared to be around someone screaming like that near me, but I understand why he would be pushed over the edge. It seemed like he got a little embarrassed by the intensity of his rant at the end and tried to explain that he isn’t some entitled jerk screaming: “don’t you know who I am” at random people, but an actor who hopes that he can make a change with the roles he plays and yet there are always those morons, who will prove to him that no matter what, black people will always be racial slurs to them. No matter what they accomplish, how decent they try to be. He was just standing in a subway, minding his own business and to hear insults like this would drive most people nuts.
I don’t know if the (non) response necessarily has to do with fear, but out of a desire not to be drawn into drama. Or to escalate drama.
I feel for the guy. The insane racial climate in this country right now could drive anyone temporarily batsh*t.
I don’t see drunk.
I see a man that is so angry that he’s being judged by the color of his skin instead of his accomplishments, that he wasn’t able to speak clearly.
It doesn’t sound like he was threatening anyone. Just losing his sh*t.
Sorry, but I disagree. I didn’t think he was drunk when I just heard him yelling, but once he calmed down and sat down and he was just talking, that’s when (to me, at least) you can really hear the slurring, and stilted speech. If somebody called him a derogatory name, then he has every right to be angry, but I don’t think he was sober.
He may have been drunk/tipsy, who knows. The way it sounded to me he was just so angry that his mouth had dropped the ball on him.
I’ve been so angry that my words just didn’t come out right or garbled.
I didn’t see the part where he had settled down and was talking calmly.
Drunk or not, I still see why he was angry. He’s frustrated.
He may have been intoxicated enough to lose control over the instance but not so drunk it was the reason for it. 100% sober you may be angry but not on a tirade. This may have released his inhibitions enough to really give vent. But not to make him just lose it for no reason.
I think this is a very accomplished actor who was called a derogatory slur and lost it. He IMO remained calm for being called that, and let’s be honest the last couple of months this past week especially has been intense.
I think a lot of people don’t realize how truly involved the cast of the wire was with the city of Baltimore they set up foundations, lived in the communities and have done a lot of volunteer work down there. There is a reason the news channels are interviewing the cast and crew of the show.
He might have been a bit drunk but all he did was rant about how horrivle someone was for calling him a racial slur. Sorry no judgement. Still love my cutty!
He’s such a fantastic actor and The Wire is still the best show of all time.
It is the best show ever.
I can’t find the link now but one site was claiming he has schizophrenia.
I’m sorry, if he was called a slur then this tirade is totally appropriate, drunk or not. Shame on the other people for not standing with him if that’s what went down.
I see a guy losing it. I don’t care if he thought he heard the N word – pacing around ranting and yelling is odd behavior.
You must be white.
He always seemed really chill and soft spoken on The Talking Dead. RIP Tyrese. Sob. But very thoughtful and all–even his wardrobe seemed chill and casual (but not sloppy). Not someone you’d ever imagine yelling like that so there’s something there. They were probably giving off vibes of scary black guy and then dropped the slur. His actual temperament seems completely removed from the stereotype of his appearance–and he is a big dude.