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Daniel Newman says he ‘tripped up’ hanging out with a ‘bunch of fit’ white men after advocating for diversity

Daniel Newman. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)

Daniel Newman. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)

Daniel Newman released a video Sunday morning (September 6) in response to a volley of criticism over tweets in which he, hours after imploring diversity, proceeded to hang out with a “bunch of fit” mainly white men at a “private island”.

The bisexual Walking Dead actor, 39, shared photographs of himself at a boutique hotel complex in Tulum, on the coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico, surrounded by scores of white, muscular maskless men. Nobody socially distancing.

“All tested negative multiple times,” he said in the since-deleted tweet, “wear a mask.”

Hours prior, he said that people who have “depth” have friendship groups that look nothing like them: “Look for people with the same goals and interests, not the same body type,” he said. 

After the star suffered stinging criticism – inflamed after he said “the brothas” had been invited to the function but were not able to attend – Newman released a Twitter video in which rebuffed accusations of “hypocrisy“.

While calling for people to “stop body-shaming”, he clarified that he was at a “birthday event” and wasn’t aware of what the “crowd was gonna be like” beforehand.

Daniel Newman says he was ‘laughing along’ after posting ‘a photo of a bunch of fit people’.

Showing his “wrinkles and receding hairline” because “we, as a culture, deal with so much body shaming and feeling insecure”, Daniel Newman said: “I had tripped up, and now all the trolls are on me now.”

Discussing body image, he said: “I meant it when I said about diversity and being yourself, and having a friend group that’s diverse. And that I also own it – my family’s half Balck and Latin.

“I own it that after, when five hours after I posted about diversity, a friend of mine invited me down to a birthday event.

“And so I’m down here [in Tulum], I had no idea what the crowd was gonna be like, all tested negative, but they’re all fit, they’re all jocks.

“So, I was laughing along, too, that I posted a photo of a bunch of fit people. So, I got dragged for it – ‘Oh, that’s so diverse’.”

Shrugging, he added: “I’m not talking to the trolls, I’m talking to you guys.” Newman stressed he’s at the “front” of the Black Lives Matter movement, and outlined the judgment he’s faced for his body in the acting and modelling industries.

“I’m happy, and I want you guys to be happy with who you are and to celebrate everyone’s diversity and equality.

“Sorry if you guys heard any drama, that’s it.”

Walking Dead star slammed for ‘private island’ hangout with mainly white men.

Newman, who himself struggled to be tested for coronavirus despite exhibiting a rash of symptoms, was criticised on Friday (September 4) for attending the gathering less than five hours after tweeting: “If you have depth, your ‘clique’ or ‘tribe’ will almost never look like you.

“Don’t sweat it when your peers reject you. Close your eyes and look for people with the same goals and interests, not the same body type (skin, colour, body type, ethnicity, gender, sexuality) #diversity.”

Newman later shared several photographs of him at the gathering at the Papaya Playa Project and joked that the group was “white as f*ck”.

“We got a diverse group but, unfortunately, the brothas invited and other girlfriends invited had to work and didn’t come this time,” he said. 

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