Quentin Tarantino got himself into a lot of trouble recently when he referred to some deaths at the hands of police officers as "murder" at a rally denouncing police brutality. So much so that police unions across the nation have vowed to boycott his films.
Well, he's got a supporter in one of his former lead actors: Jamie Foxx. During a speech at the Hollywood Film Awards, Foxx encouraged Tarantino to keep speaking up about police brutality, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"Keep telling the truth, keep speaking the truth and don't worry about none of the haters," Foxx said. Foxx was presenting an award to the ensemble cast of Tarantino's latest film, The Hateful Eight, which is coming out Christmas Day.
According to The Guardian, the Los Angeles Police Department and police unions in New York, Houston, New Jersey, Chicago and Philadelphia are not feeling Tarantino's remarks.
"If you believe there's murder going on, then you need to rise up and stand up against it. I'm here to say I'm on the side of the murdered," Tarantino said at the Oct. 24 rally, referring to the string of incidents in the last few years in which unarmed black people were killed by police. The police unions say that Tarantino is advocating violence against police.
It's funny; Tarantino has been criticized by African Americans for his weird obsession with black culture—mainly with how black culture is sometimes portrayed in his films (not to mention the excessive use of the n-word in Django Unchained). It's interesting to see him side with black activists on this issue, and to see that Foxx—who, as a black actor, doesn't have as much influence in Hollywood—is not afraid to voice his support for Tarantino. Foxx's bravery makes him my #MCM.
As President Barack Obama has been stressing recently, we should all reject the narrative that if you are pro-Black Lives Matter, then you must be anti-law enforcement. They are not mutually exclusive.
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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.