Donald Glover Says He Ignores ‘This Is America’ Critics Because He’s ‘Really Sensitive’
Donald Glover is being lauded as a modern-day renaissance man but even the most talented of entertainers can fall victim to internet trolls.
The Atlanta creator stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to update everyone on his extensive project list. The dude just pulled double-duty hosting and performing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, his critically-lauded FX comedy Atlanta wrapped up its stellar second season, he released a music video for “This Is America” that’s since gone viral, and he’s playing the coolest cat in the galaxy in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Got all that? Good.
While Glover consistently churns out art that transcends the abilities of most average human beings, being labeled something of a prodigy doesn’t mean he’s immune to the backlash that inevitably plagues every A-lister. Sure, he may have gifted fans a hilarious sketch mocking Kanye West on Saturday Night Live, impressed critics with a second season of Atlanta that somehow seemed to outperform the first, and been praised as one of the best things about the upcoming Star Wars origin flick, but there’s one thing Glover just can’t handle and that’s criticism, especially if it comes from Twitter.
Glover admitted to Kimmel that’s he’s avoided the social media platform for over a week now, logging off right before he dropped his “This Is America” video and hosted SNL.
“Yeah, just ’cause it’s like I don’t want to be in all the mix. It’s bad for me. I’m really sensitive, so I’m like I’ll just let it be,” Glover told Kimmel after being asked if he was aware of all the think-pieces and analyses of his “This Is America” video.
The actor went on to clarify that criticism didn’t necessarily make him feel bad but it did give him the urge to track down his naysayers online and then stalk their Instagrams in order to make himself feel better.
It’s nice to know that even a genius like Glover has the same weaknesses as the rest of us but to be fair, he’s facing more scrutiny than most right now. Solo: A Star Wars Story is a huge undertaking for Disney and Lucasfilm and has seen it’s fair share of controversy during production. Atlanta had a widely-loved first season so the pressure was on to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump that seems to haunt most shows during the age of peak TV. And “This Is America,” a music video that also served as a commentary on racial prejudice in our society, was full of symbolism and satire that opened it up to long-form written inspection on the internet.
So really, Glover’s abstinence method for staying sane amidst all the hype is probably for the best, and it seems to be working.
