Mark Wahlberg Regrets Asking to be Pardoned for His 1988 Assault of a Vietnamese Man

In 2014, Mark Wahlberg asked to be pardoned of an assault he committed in 1988. When he was 16 years old and under the influence of drugs, he shouted racist language at two Vietnamese men and beat them with sticks, leaving one of them blind in one eye. At the time, Wahlberg pled guilty, was convicted of the crime, and spent 45 days in prison.

In his request for pardon, he described the assault, and said,  “Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others.”

His decision was controversial, and caused outrage among Asian-American groups as well as many others.

While at the Toronto Film Festival this week, he touched on the subject, saying he regrets requesting that the conviction be expunged.

It was one of those things where it was just kind of presented to me, and if I could’ve done it over again I would never have focused on that or applied…  didn’t need that. I spent 28 years righting the wrong. I didn’t need a piece of paper to acknowledge it. I was kind of pushed into doing it. I certainly didn’t need to or want to relive that stuff over again.

He did say that “some good did come out of it”, because he was able to meet one of his victims, and apologize to him, his wife, and his daughter.

[H/T Boston Globe]

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