Director Josh Weigel has apologized to executive producer Letitia Wright for not letting her know Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire will distribute her new film Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.
“We are grateful for all [Wright] has done and regret she wasn’t informed about the partnership with The Daily Wire. That was not handled well, and we apologize for putting her in this position,” Weigel said in a joint statement with producer Rebekah Weigel from Peacetree Productions.
Their response came two days after Wright distanced herself from The Daily Wire when the right-wing media company teamed up with Angel Studios to distribute Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot. The Black Panther actress shared a now-deleted post on her Instagram page on Sunday to clarify that she was not involved in the decision to partner with The Daily Wire.
“That was not my decision, and I was not given an update or made aware of this decision. I am in no way aligned or affiliated with The Daily Wire. I am thankful for all who want to positively champion this film and campaign to serve children. However, I do not condone using this beautiful film for divisive political purposes. That is not why I joined the project,” Wright wrote in the social media post.
Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, released July 4, follows the true story of Bishop W.C. Martin and Donna Martin and their church in East Texas, and their efforts to help 22 families adopt 77 children from the local foster system.
Angel Studios, which also produced the faith-based hit film Sound of Freedom, initially acquired Sound of Hope from Peacetree Productions. The company later struck a deal with The Daily Wire without Wright’s knowledge to distribute the movie in theaters.
The Weigels in their statement said the partnership with The Daily Wire aimed in part to help “end the foster crisis.” Despite the media backlash generated by The Daily Wire partnership, the Sound of Hope creators defended their decision to use the right-wing media company to market the movie.
“We are deeply grateful for the tireless support of The Daily Wire and its hosts. In the tweet that started this firestorm, Matt Walsh was standing up for the right of Christians to foster and adopt kids from the foster care system,” they said. “There are — in fact — real efforts to prevent families of faith from adopting, and this is a pivotal part of the conversation around helping kids who are suffering in a broken system. It’s not about left and right, it’s about right and wrong.”