Donald Glover dismisses ‘whack’ claims that his show Atlanta isn’t for Black people

‘To say it’s only for white people, it’s like we’re cutting ourselves down,’ he said

Donald Glover has responded to criticisms that his comedy Atlanta is “only for white people”.

The show, which airs on FX in the US and Disney+ in the UK, follows college dropout and music manager Earnest “Earn” Marks (Glover) and rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) as they navigate a bizarre, seemingly otherworldly version of the Atlanta rap scene.

The show uses a surreal, unconventional type of storytelling to examine themes of racism, whiteness, existentialism and modern African-American culture.

Speaking at a Television Critics Association panel on Tuesday (2 August), via Entertainment Weekly, Glover said: “I feel this is such a Black show. To say it’s only for white people, it’s like we’re cutting ourselves down which is kind of whack to me…”

He said that a lot of his work is “for the people”, and called out those who have accused his show of “misogynoir” – prejudice directed towards Black women.

“I’m wondering why you think that and why you think I feel that way when I’m nothing without my people,” he said.

“It’s just kind of whack to me. Some of that to me is just internet people trying to get hot, which is also something we learned in the system we’re in.”

Glover in ‘Atlanta’ (Copyright 2018, FX Networks. All Rights Reserved.)

He added: “I feel like a lot of the Black criticism bothers me only because it sounds like [it’s from] Black people who don’t really know what we’ve been through. I don’t think they give a lot of credit to what we’ve gone through.”

The fourth and final season of Atlanta premieres on FX on 15 September. A UK release date is yet to be announced.