Am I Racist?

Produced byStarring^[1]CinematographyAnton SeimEdited byMarshall LeeMusic byUncle ChubbzDistributed bySDG Releasing101 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$3 million^[2]Box office$5.6 million^[3][4]

Am I Racist? is a 2024 American documentary comedy film starring conservative political commentator Matt Walsh that lampoons the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement.^[5][6][7] Directed by Justin Folk for The Daily Wire,^[5] it follows Walsh as he poses as a "bumbling DEI trainee", using subterfuge to deceive experts and attending anti-racism workshops.^[6][5]

With a budget of $3 million,^[5] the film was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on September 13, 2024.^[8][9]

The film has been described as a mockumentary in the style of Borat.^[5][10]

Matt Walsh is in a coffee shop reminiscing about the prevalence of racism in society. He decides to embark on a journey to find out whether or not he is racist. After being ousted from a support group focused on "white guilt", Walsh decides to take on a persona similar to that of the gender studies professor he interviewed in What is a Woman. He goes on to receive a DEI certification, and assumes the identity of a "DEI expert".

Subsequently, he begins his quest to "do the work" that started off his journey. Among other things, Walsh convinces passersby to sign a petition to rename the Washington Monument the "George Floyd Monument", raise the structure by 30%, and repaint it black. He also goes to a biker bar, hoping to expose the racism of white "hillbillies", and interviews black Americans who tell him that the solution to racism is to "love one another".

The show culminates in Walsh, hosting a workshop called the "Do the Work Workshop" where he tells white people that they are inherently racist, demonstrates speaking out against racism by condemning his uncle Frank for a racist joke he had made twenty years ago, and encourages self-flagellation as a solution to white guilt. The show ends with Walsh dramatizing having a change of heart and ending the workshop, stating publicly that the whole thing is a scam. In the final scene, Walsh imagines himself sharing his findings with the world before sitting down for coffee with his uncle Frank.

The film was released in the United States and Canada on September 13, 2024, by SDG Releasing.^[2] It is the first theatrically released film by The Daily Wire.^[8]

Am I Racist? made $1.96 million on its opening day, including Thursday night previews, and made $4.54 million from 1,517 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office.^[3] It was "the top debut of 2024 so far for a doc and the third biggest of the past decade", according to The Hollywood Reporter.^[11][12][13]

Tatiana Siegel wrote in Variety that the film is "either hilarious or offensive, depending on which side of the MAGA fence you sit on".^[5] Jason L. Riley of The Wall Street Journal gave the film high praise, noting "you'll laugh a lot", and how Walsh's approach "exposes the DEI industry by letting practitioners discredit themselves."^[14] Chris Beck of Splice Today called the film "the Summer’s Best Comedy".^[15]

Walsh wrote on X during the opening weekend of the film that no "mainstream film critics" had yet reviewed it.^[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an average five out of five stars.^[12]

• Official website
• Official trailer
• Am I Racist? at IMDb
• Am I Racist? at Metacritic
• Am I Racist? at Rotten Tomatoes