In late June, Mark Wahlberg appeared in a few social media adverts supporting a Catholic app called Hallow. These Hallow-sponsored advertisements included a photo of Wahlberg holding his phone, apparently using the app. One of the screenshots of the advertising provided by a netizen contained a promotional image that read:
“Only on Hallow, the #1 Catholic app, can you join Mark Wahlberg in prayer.”
Wahlberg’s adverts have been appearing on social media since April, according to their Instagram. The app also collaborated with the actor’s film Father Stu (2022). Following the current advertising, however, multiple Twitter users called up the Transformers star’s racist charges.
Racist claims against Mark Wahlberg resurface after Hallow app endorsement
Many social media users were taken aback by the Hallow app, which featured Wahlberg. A few comments also criticized Wahlberg for previous charges of racist conduct. These comments drew attention to the actor’s repeated charges of racially motivated assaults throughout his adolescence. According to the Independent, Wahlberg (15 at the time) and three buddies pursued three black youngsters in 1986. According to the allegations, they flung stones at them and screamed racist obscenities. As a result of these assaults, he was exposed to a civil rights injunction. The allegations, though, were apparently resolved within a month.
Two years later, at the age of 17, the actor assaulted two Vietnamese guys while high on narcotics. Wahlberg had struck one of them with a wooden stick and punched the other in the eye at the moment. The actor is also accused of hurling racist epithets at them. “Vietnam f***ing s***,” he allegedly told them. Mark Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to two years in jail for the aforementioned assaults in 1988. He did, however, get just a 45-day sentence for his racially motivated crime.
Wahlberg later told The Guardian in 2020:
“I decided to own up to my faults, go against the flow, and no longer be a member of the gang – to proclaim that I was going to go and do my own thing.” This made it 10 times more difficult for me to go from my house to the train station, to school, and to work.”
However, the current relationship with the Hallow app has resulted in similar cases reappearing on the internet.
What do the adverts for the Mark Wahlberg Hallow app say?
Wahlberg allegedly advised viewers to be “prayed up” in one of his video advertisements for the Hallow Catholic app. The actor, according to the subtitle, said:
“Let us recite the Rosary together and remain in prayer.”
According to an April 13 Instagram post, Mark Wahlberg had three prayers accessible on the app. The Holy Spirit Prayer, the Rosary, and the Anima Christi were among them. They also revealed exclusive prayers from the actor’s 2022 film, Father Stu. The 51-year-old Boston native also liked many photos tagged with his account on the app’s official Instagram page.
In March, Mark Wahlberg posted a soundless video promoting the Hallow app on his social media platforms. The advertisement addressed the Catholic season of Lent as well as a social challenge from Hallow dubbed “Pray40.” Wahlberg’s involvement with the app seems to have begun with their collaboration with Father Stu.
Netizens respond to Mark Wahlberg’s involvement with the Catholic app Hallow and its marketing.
A slew of internet users slammed the commercial for including the Boston native. Some joked about downloading the app following Wahlberg’s endorsement. Some of these tweets, though, may not have been sarcastic. They might have included actual fan responses to the actor’s endorsement of the Catholic application.
Twitter REALLY wants me to “Join Mark Wahlberg in prayer only on Hallow, the #1 Catholic app.” Uh. Thanks, but, no.
— Jo Jacovino (@producernerdjo) July 2, 2022
Downloading Hallow app now. Thanks Catholic Mark Wahlberg. pic.twitter.com/aOhEzCASQN
— Chase (Beef Steve) 🥩 (@TittySommelier) May 5, 2022