Ouch.
A Los Angeles reporter did a number on himself on Monday when he apparently mistook Samuel L. Jackson for fellow actor Laurence Fishburne during a live TV interview with the star, TMZ reports.
KTLA Entertainment anchor Sam Rubin was having a virtual sit-down with Jackson, who was in Atlanta for his new movie, RoboCop, when he asked Jackson about his Super Bowl commercial. One small problem, though: Jackson did not come out with a Super Bowl commercial this year. And, well, it's pretty easy to guess what happened once Jackson realized what was going on.
"You're as crazy as the people on Twitter. I am not Laurence Fishburne!" Jackson said, shaking his head, reminding the anchor that just because both actors were black and famous didn't mean they were the same person. "We don't all look alike!"
Rubin was immediately contrite, apologizing over and over again, before trying to get the interview back on track. But Jackson wasn't about to let him get away that easily.
"You're the entertainment reporter for this station?" Jackson asked incredulously. "You don't know the difference between me and Laurence Fishburne? That must be a very short line for your job.
"Oh, hell no," he added when Rubin once again tried to change the subject to his movie. "Really? Really?!"
Jackson then went on to explain the difference between him, Fishburne and other famous black actors. "I'm the other guy … There's more than one black guy doing commercials," he joked. "I'm the what's-in-your-wallet black guy. He's the car black guy. Morgan Freeman is the other credit card black guy."
After the disastrous interview, Rubin had some quiet time, away from Jackson's bantering, to properly apologize, in his own way.
"First and foremost, I do know who Samuel L. Jackson is. I've interviewed him several times over the years, but never quite like the conversation we just had," he said, trying to cover for his mistake. "I had indicated to Samuel that I had seen him during the Super Bowl, and he thought that I had confused him with the commercial Laurence Fishburne had done for a car company.
"Of course, a Captain America ad had also run during the Super Bowl, but I immediately felt so dumb, I didn't bring that up, and he gave me the shellacking that was well-deserved," he added. "I pride myself in the fact that unlike a lot of people who do this kind of work, more often than not I really do know what I'm talking about, but I didn't 30 minutes ago, and I'm really embarrassed about it, and I very much apologize to Samuel L. Jackson and anyone else who was offended for what was a very amateur mistake."
Read more at TMZ.
Also at The Root: “No, Neither Asians nor Blacks All Look Alike.”