'The Office' actor Leslie David Baker says racism has gotten worse after sharing hateful messages he received

close

Video

Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for August 16

Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.

Leslie David Baker says that racism has gotten worse after exposing hateful comments he received following his decision to start a crowdfunding campaign for a spinoff to “The Office.”

The star, who is best known for playing Stanley Hudson on the popular NBC sitcom, began a Kickstarter campaign to try and get a spinoff titled “Uncle Stan” off the ground. The proposed spinoff would see his character come out of retirement in Florida and move to Los Angeles to help his nephew run a motorcycle and florist business, much to the dismay of Stanley's soon-to-be-fiancee.

However, after announcing the project, Baker took to Instagram to reveal some of the vile responses he received from racists who were unhappy with him soliciting “The Office” fanbase for money. After the post went viral, Baker opened up to USA Today about his experience.

'THE OFFICE' REVIVAL REPORTEDLY IN THE WORKS WITH LIMITED RETURNING CAST

"We're living in an age in time where there is this movement," Baker told USA Today. "We would have thought that these issues would have been rectified years, decades ago. They have not. As a matter of fact, they've gotten worse."

Actor Leslie David Baker said racism has gotten worse in recent years. (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

He also explained his reasoning for posting the horrible messages, which included racial slurs, accusations of theft and images of Black people being murdered.

“You cannot fight racism and combat those types of stereotypical attitudes if you pretend that they don't exist," he explained. "All too often in America, people have been so concerned about being made to feel uncomfortable, because they aren't confronted by racist behavior."

JOHN KRASINSKI AND 'THE OFFICE' CAST RECREATE SHOW'S WEDDING DANCE FOR NEWLYWEDS

The star hoped to shine a light on the idea that racist behavior hasn’t gone away, it’s merely moved to an online medium.

"It's not riding down the street in the hood with the burning cross, but instead it's been replaced with the new technology," he said. "We think that the old photographs that we see of people being persecuted on the way to school in the South and trying to vote in the '60s, we think that all of those people have died out. They haven't died out. They got married. They had children. They had grandchildren, great grandchildren. But they took those beliefs with them, and in many cases, they have not altered those beliefs."

Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson on 'The Office.' (Colleen Hayes/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

The outlet notes that Baker’s post got some attention from fellow “The Office” co-stars like Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey and Kate Flannery, who reached out to him to express their concern over the messages he received.

“Racism doesn't care whether or not you're an actor on TV or if you won awards," he concluded. "This is something that faces minorities on any job, not just because they're in show business."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The "Uncle Stan" Kickstarter campaign has exceeded its initial $300,000 goal.