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Roland Martin has never been one to shy away from controversial topics, often to his own detriment. The NewsOne Now host is under Twitter assault today after he suggested that Black feminists and gays may have helped Nate Parker‘s The Birth Of A Nation become a Hollywood flop in its opening weekend.

It all began when Martin tweeted Wednesday morning (Oct. 12) that his program would focus on Parker’s film and why it was successful in his view. The chatter online has been that Birth failed based on the controversial rape case that has dogged Parker in recent months ahead of his film’s debut, and Martin added some fuel to that fire by bringing it to his wide social media platform.

It is somewhat difficult to pinpoint where Martin went wrong with the audience, but he bravely stood his ground when critics began assailing him for his views. One user accused Martin of forcing people to see Birth out of guilt, as he felt the fact that the film was even made is a success in itself. It doesn’t appear that Martin takes a position on Parker’s past but instead seemingly is looking to garner support for the film considering its potential historical impact.

Despite his explanations among the pushback, Martin has been getting absolutely fried by Twitter. Much of the vitriol is intentionally offensive while other portions of the discussion connected an idea that Martin was suggesting that Black feminists created a negative narrative around the film and also the fact that Parker has a white wife might be a point of contention.

Actress Gabrielle Union’s comments around the film were also mentioned in the Twitter wars that ensued in which she said she understood why rape survivors like herself wouldn’t go see the film but said the film is bigger than Parker’s past.

There’s a lot to unpack here and we’ve tried our best to succinctly give it to you the way we saw it below and in the gallery. If we’ve missed anything in this story, please let us know in the comments section.

Photo: Nicky Nelson/WENN.com

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