Fact Check: Morgan Freeman Retired from Narrating Documentaries, Calling Them 'Woke Crap'?

Claim:

Actor Morgan Freeman announced his retirement from narrating documentaries, calling them "woke crap."

Rating:

Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )

On May 27, 2024, the Facebook page The Patriots Lovers posted a meme claiming Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman announced his retirement from narrating documentary films. The meme read, "Morgan Freeman Retires from Narrating Documentaries: 'It's Woke Crap.'"

A search of Facebook resulted in plenty of examples of users publicly posting the meme .

The first comment under the Facebook post linked users to an article on the SpaceXMania.com website. The website published the story on May 17 with the headline, "Breaking: Morgan Freeman Calls It Quits on Documentaries, 'Extremely Woke Crap.'"

The article began as follows:

In a move that has rippled through the documentary filmmaking community, the iconic voice of Morgan Freeman will no longer narrate documentaries, the actor citing his dissatisfaction with what he terms the "woke crap" that pervades the genre. This decision marks the end of an era for documentary enthusiasts who have long associated Freeman's compelling voice with some of the most profound and enriching narratives in modern cinema.

...

During a recent interview at a film festival where he was honored for his lifetime achievements, Freeman expressed his frustrations. "I've always believed that the power of documentaries lies in their ability to present facts and let the viewer draw their own conclusions," he stated. "Lately, it feels like there's more preaching and less informing. It's become about pushing a particular agenda, and that's not what I signed up for."

Freeman's critique touches on a broader debate within the industry about the balance between advocacy and objectivity in documentaries. His use of the term "woke crap" highlights his disdain for what he perceives as the overt politicization of documentary content, which he argues dilutes the purity of the documentary's purpose—to educate and inform, not to indoctrinate.

However, this story was not true. SpaceXMania.com is a website that describes some of its output as being satirical in nature, both on its "About Us" page and as a label above articles. Further, the meme posted on Facebook featured a watermark displaying the word "satire."

In other words, Freeman had not issued any public announcements about retiring from film narration.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Sources:

Mikkelson, David. "Why We Include Humor and Satire in Snopes.com." Snopes , 15 Aug. 2019, https://www.snopes.com//notes/why-we-include-humor-and-satire-in-snopes-com/ .