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Mark Wahlberg has asked the state of Massaschusetts to pardon him for 1988 crimes against two Vietnamese men, and one of those two men publicly forgave him this week — an action that Wahlberg says has made him incredibly emotional. While speaking to Vulture today to promote his new film The Gambler (the full interview will run next week), we asked Wahlberg how it felt to get that forgiveness from Johnny Trinh, one of the men the then-16-year-old attacked (prompting a 45-day prison sentence and a felony conviction he’s now trying to expunge). “Tears of joy,” Wahlberg told us.

Trinh spoke to the Daily Mail and said that Wahlberg “was young and reckless but I forgive him now … everyone deserves another chance,” revealing that though he was thought to have been half-blinded in the attack, he’d actually lost sight in his left eye years before the assault. That new information has left Wahlberg reeling, “especially because I’ve carried the burden around for so many years thinking I had caused this guy to go blind,” he said.



“The graciousness, the kindness in his heart to forgive me anyway for my unnecessary and horrible actions … ” Wahlberg paused for a long time before continuing. “You know, there are many things that I’ve dealt with in my past, and being a devout Catholic and knowing that I can’t be forgiven unless I can forgive, I just thought that what he said was very special. I was overwhelmed with emotion.”