Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those,” Mackie said Tuesday, prompting backlash.

Following on from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Brave New World shows that Mackie's Sam Wilson has accepted the moniker of Captain America. Like his predecessor Steve Rogers, Sam has a strained relationship with those in power.

In a post to Instagram, Anthony Mackie eventually posted a response to the backlash against him, clarifying that he is a proud American, and that he was simply trying to say that Captain America doesn’t only represent America, as he represents values that are held by people all over the word. Check out his full statement below.