Everyone knows you have to be extra careful about body language and words when you’re in a bank. Apparently, if you’re a rich and famous Black person you have to be even more careful how you withdraw your money. According to TMZ, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler found this out first hand back in January, when the Oscar nominee tried to discreetly withdraw a large sum of money from his checking account.
An Atlanta Police Department report stated that Coogler was detained after wearing sunglasses and a COVID-19 face mask into a Bank of America to make a fully legal withdrawal. The confusion came when he handed the teller a withdrawal note reportedly reading, “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.”
While it seems Coogler was just trying to keep his business private, the bank thought something was up and contacted the police about an attempted robbery. Once they arrived, the cops detained two people waiting for Coogler in an SUV, then led the director out of the bank in handcuffs.
The police report goes on to state that the transaction triggered an alert on the teller’s computer, leading her to summon her boss, who then called 911. Once police resolved everything, fault was placed on the teller, who was identified as a pregnant Black woman, and Coogler was cleared. The director was not happy about the mistake and requested badge numbers from all the officers involved.
With everyone wearing masks, it’s got to be extra difficult for bank employees right now. However, there’s no excuse for having someone detained while trying to withdraw their own money.
Coogler has been in Atlanta filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The movie resumed filming in January after shutting down for months when star Letitia Wright was injured. The production has suffered from multiple setbacks, but it is still scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 11.