KATHMANDU: Netizens are slamming American actor Mark Wahlberg for his social media message supporting Black Lives Matters movement while pointing out his past hate crimes.

Paying tribute to George Floyd, an African-American man who died in police custody, Wahlberg posted on his social media accounts: "The murder of George Floyd is heartbreaking. We must all work together to fix this problem. I'm praying for all of us. God bless. #blacklivesmatter". He also posted a photo of Floyd.

But social media users quick to point out the 49-year-old's past faults and slam him for his convictions for hate crimes against people of colour.

According to PTI, Wahlberg served 45 days in prison in 1988 after attacking two Vietnamese men, while he was issued a civil rights citation two years earlier when he was among a group of white teenagers who hurled rocks and shouted kill the n****s' at a group of mostly black students.

"Only in America can a man commit multiple hate crimes, serve only 45 days, and then go on to play an American "patriot" in various films," a twitter user wrote.

"Mark Wahlberg hurled rocks at black children while screaming Kill the n*****s! He beat a Vietnamese man unconscious and was charged for attempted murder. He's committed at least 5 hate crimes. He only apologised while seeking a pardon 26 years later," tweeted comic book artiste Adam Ellis.

Another user tweeted that John Boyega is afraid he might lose his career because he is protesting against racism and police brutality, but Mark Wahlberg has a whole hate crimes section on his Wikipedia page and is one of the highest paid actors in the world."

But some fans of Wahlberg were defending him, pointing out that he had changed over the years. "In 1986. You're tryna cancel him for something from 34 years ago. He's since made HUGE strides to try to right his wrongs. In 1991 he even made a song talking about racism (look up Wildside by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch). This is ***ked up but people are allowed to grow (sic), a tweet read.

Wahlberg has not responded to the criticism. — HNS