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Haitian-American actor Da’Vinchi is drawing criticism for characterizing Americans as lazy and incompetent. The conversation appeared in the Atlanta studios of 4th&1, a podcast from former NFL great Cam Newton.
Online reactions have linked the remarks to reasons why there’s steady growth of Foundational Black American (FBA) identity online.
”Da’Vinchi needs to chill,” said fan Tyrone wells, who we interviewed outside a barbershop downtown. “If he’s claiming to be Haitian and saying this, it’s problematic.”
Da’Vinchi (born Abraham D. Juste in Brooklyn) is known for playing Darnell Hayes on The CW’s All American and Terry Flenory on the Starz series BMF.
In footage shared this week—appearing alongside discussion of the cancellation of BMF and drawn from a conversation involving Newton—he described Americans as remaining dependent far longer than people elsewhere. He said he could fully take care of himself by age eight, while “in America, no shade to you guys, you’re just incompetent for a really long time,” and tied the pattern to an efficiency culture that leaves people unable to handle basic tasks.
Separate circulating clips and commentary attributed to him claims that Black Americans lack a distinct culture and that actors from overseas are often more focused on the work than on celebrity.
The fact that Da’Vinchi is a Haitian-American actor is leading many online to comment that Black Americans are routinely stereotyped by others in the diaspora while being criticized for pushing back, and noted that BMF casting had drawn on the real-life son of a convicted drug trafficker rather than a seasoned actor.
Other users labeled Da’Vinchi a “tether” (a term some FBA accounts use for non-U.S.-lineage Black people) and told him to direct his energy toward Haiti.
FBA, short for Foundational Black Americans, is an online identity claimed by some descendants of U.S. chattel slavery. Advocates emphasize lineage-specific claims around culture, reparations, and political priority, and they frequently distinguish themselves from more recent African and Caribbean immigrants.
Critics inside and outside Black online spaces call the posture divisive or exclusionary. The Da’Vinchi clips were treated by some posters as fresh evidence for the former view: remarks from a Haitian-American performer whose prominent roles have involved portraying Black American characters.
The exchange sits inside a recurring pattern. Comments that generalize about Black American work ethic, family structure, or culture—often from first- or second-generation immigrants—regularly produce spikes in FBA-aligned posting.
Da’Vinchi has not publicly replied in the posts reviewed; the clips continue to circulate under captions that frame them as explanation for why lineage-based distinctions keep gaining traction online.
Newton’s “4th&1” (also styled 4th & 1) podcast is primarily filmed at his production studio in South Fulton, Georgia, in the metro Atlanta area.
The roughly 27,000-square-foot space, on about an acre and formerly a recording studio, houses his companies under one roof, including production outfit Iconic Saga. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting from May 2025 says the weekly sports show “4th&1 with Cam Newton” and his other filmed podcast, “Funky Friday,” are both produced there, along with content for his youth sports organization C1N.
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