ZCZC
BFF-39
ENTERTAINMENT-OSCARS-LEE-TRUMP
Trump accuses film-maker Spike Lee of ‘racist hit’ job
WASHINGTON, Feb 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Monday
accused veteran film director Spike Lee of a “racist hit” job after he won
his first competitive Oscar and urged voters to mobilize for the next
election.
Lee took home a statuette for best adapted screenplay for
“BlacKkKlansman,” a stranger-than-fiction true story of an African-American
police officer who managed to infiltrate the highest levels of the Ku Klux
Klan.
In an impromptu address that referred to America’s history of slavery
and his own grandmother, who graduated from college “even though her mother
was a slave,” Lee did not mention Trump but urged voters to “be on the right
side of history” in the 2020 presidential election.
“Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to
use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President,” Trump
tweeted.
The president boasted that he “has done more for African Americans
(Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax
Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!”
In his comments, Lee gave “praise to our ancestors who have built this
country into what it is today,” and said: “We will have love and wisdom
regained. We will regain our humanity. It will be a powerful moment. The 2020
presidential election is around the corner. Let’s all mobilize.”
In an apparent reference to Trump’s divisive presidency, Lee urged
voters to “make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right
thing!”
That was a nod to his acclaimed 1989 film, “Do the Right Thing,” about
simmering racial tensions in New York’s Brooklyn borough.
For more than 30 years, Lee has captivated audiences — and sometimes
angered them — with his provocative, frank depictions of black America
infused with his signature mix of entertainment, activism and rage.
His films often have had a political bent like “Do The Right Thing,”
“Malcolm X” and “Jungle Fever.”
BSS/AFP/BZC/20010HRS