PHOTOSNiecy Nash, Ava DuVernay & Joshua Jackson Attend ‘When They See Us’ FYSEE Event
Jun. 10 2019, Published 7:33 p.m. ET
Ava DuVernay walked the red carpet on June 9 along with Niecy Nash, Joshua Jackson, and other castmates from the Netflix series When They See Us. The director, cast, and “The Exonerated 5” all posed together ahead of a panel discussion at FYSEE in Los Angeles.
Niecy, 49, portrays the mother of Korey Wise in the Netflix docu-drama following the true events of five Black teenagers who were arrested for a horrible crime they did not commit. She wore a t-shirt that had the names: Yusef, Kevin, Antron, Korey and Raymond on it to represent the men wrongfully accused.
Cast members Niecy, Joshua, 40, Freddy Miyares, Michael K. Williams, Jovan Adepo, Jharrel Jerome, Caleel Harris, Asante Blackk, Chris Chalk, Justin Cunningham, and Ethan Herisse posed for a group photo on the red carpet with their director Ava, 46.
Ava was also joined by Korey, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Antron McCay ahead of the panel.
Kevin spoke during the event and said, “It is bittersweet because watching this series is painful but it’s necessary. This needs to be watched.”
Ava also addressed why she referred to the group as "The Exonerated 5" and chose to title the show When They See Us rather than “Central Park 5,” which they were dubbed in media.
“'Central Park 5' felt like medicine, and this isn’t medicine," she said. "It felt like something that had been put upon the real men by the press, by the prosecutors, by the police. It took away their faces, it took away their families, it took away their pulses and their beating hearts. We need to know them and say their names."
Do you plan to watch When They See Us on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
