A group of five prominent black women is determined to block Hulu’s documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told from seeing the light of day.
Earlier this week, Hulu announced its documentary roster which included a documentary about Freaknik, a popular festival in Atlanta during the 1990s. The documentary will explore the rise and fall of Freaknik, primarily attended by students from historically black colleges and universities.
Originally starting as a small picnic hosted by the D.C. Metro Club in 1983, the festival gained popularity, becoming an annual tradition. However, it also gained a reputation for debauchery, particularly among the young college students who attended. The documentary will delve into the festival’s history and examine whether its magic can be replicated four decades later.
The five women, including a politician, three “high-level” corporate executives, and a judge, are in the process of filing a lawsuit in the Atlanta federal court to sue Hulu and keep it from releasing the documentary.
These women seeking to block the documentary’s release are basing their case on the fact that they did not sign a release for footage of them being used in the film that is going to be available on a huge platform like Hulu. There is debate over the women’s claim as many believe that the defense will not hold as fair use will come into play, especially since the footage is of the mass public and not of any individual in particular.
One of the women seeking to block the film’s release has stated videos showing her in an “unflattering” light are already circulating online. She is married, has three children, and earns over one million annually. She hopes to block the official debut of the videos.
The women involved in the case have decided to keep their identities concealed. Further information about the case is currently unfolding.
The attempted lawsuit does not come as a surprise since the college students involved in Freaknik are now mature adults who have achieved professional success. It is natural for them to be determined to keep the past in the past and away from the public eye.
However, unflattering videos are not the only issue being pointed out about Freaknik. Soon after Hulu’s announcement came, a debate raged on social media about the documentary since history also associated Freaknik with serious crimes like sexual assault.
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A 1998 article reported that men chased multiple women and tried to grab their buttocks. One woman fought off the men by flailing her arms, and another had to resist their attempt to lift her dress while posing for a photo.
“She had her underwear around her knees and her dress was up over her head,” Freaknik committee chairman George Hawthorne has admitted on record about a girl he rescued. The admission came on Freaknik Tuesday on MTV, where he also said: “If it had not been for me intervening she would have potentially been raped in broad daylight.”
Local authorities had almost entirely transformed Freaknik into a police gathering by 1999. The Baltimore Sun published a story in the same year, where then-ATL Police Chief Beverly Harvard commented on the event’s lack of female attendees. “Yesterday we drove around and we saw a lot of young men between the ages of 16 and maybe in their middle 20s and they were actually looking for the women. You could see it on their faces that they weren’t having much fun,” he was quoted as saying.
Here’s what social media users are saying about the documentary and the question of whether it will address the dark side of the event or not. One user shared a disturbing clip about a previous documentary about Freaknik:
i watched a documentary about freaknik once, and this part of it made my stomach turn. these animals were snatching girls out of cars 🤢 https://t.co/QBMflW13DE pic.twitter.com/ixCs71azTL
— ✨ (@fentyrus_) April 12, 2023
Others were hopeful that the documentary will discuss everything:
It’s also supposed to document the fall of Freaknik. Which included a lot of sexual assault. I hope your OGs won’t be on there either. Here are some firsthand accounts: https://t.co/5TDJD88paI pic.twitter.com/aoTuiSH7KE
— Reid (@RVAReid) April 9, 2023
One person was concerned that people would try and recreate the event:
I don’t know how I feel about the Freaknik documentary. a) I personally don’t want anybody to be inspired to recreate it. b) I have a feeling there’s so much we don’t know about, and not in a funny haha way, but in a sexual assault kinda way.
— TipTheMan (@thedoctormom) April 8, 2023
Another shared disturbing stats:
FreakNik 1994 had 25 reported r*pes , 500 arrests and over 60 reports of assault…. Y’all keep saying bring it back and I’m horrified 😩
— Big Mama ⛓🖤 (@QUANNAMC) April 9, 2023
Even though multiple media outlets have reached out to Hulu, the streaming service has not responded to any of the queries.
Last week, Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell announced the documentary’s production on Twitter, which will involve Jermaine Dupri. Both artists were involved in developing the Atlanta party scene during the 1990s, making them appropriate choices for the project.
The showrunner and executive producer will be Geraldine L. Porras, along with P. Frank Williams, Peter Bittenbender, Melissa Cooper, Eric Tomosunas, Terry Ross, Alex Avant, Nikki Byles, and Jay Allen from Mass Appeal and Swirl Films.
There is not yet a release date for the documentary, and the streaming service has not yet put out an official press release or trailer. However, speculation is that the documentary will come out in 2024 which would coincide with the 40th anniversary of the famed 1994 rendition of Freaknik.
