Actor Anthony Mackie sparked debates online when he commented on the death of the American male. Mackie made headlines after his recent appearance on “The Pivot” podcast went viral.
Mackie told The Pivot co-hosts – former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder – that he wants his sons to be “humble” like he is.
The Captain America: Brave New World star said his sons will not be living off of his success.
Mackie shares four sons with his ex-wife Sheletta Chapital. They divorced in 2017 after three years of marriage.
“I keep my boys humble. Like my boys have never had a pair of Jordans. My boys don’t do all that internet fly stuff,” Mackie said. “I could be the biggest star in the world. Do not let me catch you being stupid.”
Mackie also revealed that his oldest son, age 15, is the man of the household. He said the older boy will make sure his younger brothers understand the rules.
“My oldest gets it — my 15-year-old. He tells the other ones, he’s like, ‘Yo, don’t make Dad mad.'”
“‘Cause once you get you get one that’s right, he gon’ straighten the other ones out,” Mackie added.
“I’ve always kept my personal life out of the business,” the actor told Esquire in January 2025. “I don’t allow people to photograph my kids. I don’t bring my kids around. I want my kids to be normal.”
Mackie said masculinity is under attack, and the current culture has killed masculinity in American households.
“In the past 20 years, we’ve been living through the death of the American male. They have literally killed masculinity in our homes and our communities for one reason or another,” he said. “But I raised my boys to be young men. And however you feel about that, you feel about that. But my boys will always be respectful, they’ll always say ‘yes sir, yes ma’am. No sir, no ma’am.’ They will always say thank you. They will always open the door for a lady. They will always make sure that their mother is taken care of and provided for. They will always be men. And that’s always since they were 2 years old.”
“American masculinity has always been different,” he said.
Mackie (left) kissed an unidentified man in a scene from the Marvel movie Captain America: Brave New World. The passionate scene was left on the cutting room floor, but it leaked online last year.
Watch the interview below.
“For the past 20 years, we’ve been living through the death of the American male, they’ve killed masculinity in our communities…” @AnthonyMackie
Star actor Anthony Mackie has soared to the highest levels in Hollywood but one thing he doesn’t play about is raising his boys to… pic.twitter.com/hqRuv6WZZZ
— Pivot Podcast (@thepivot) March 12, 2025
