President Donald Trump struck back at director Spike Lee following Lee's comments about the president at Sunday's Academy Awards.
After taking home the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, the BlacKkKlansman director criticized the president for failing to fully condemn the neo-Nazis who took part in the Charlottesville, Virginia, rally in 2017.
Actual footage of the "Unite the Right" rally at which Heather Heyer was killed when James Alex Fields Jr. drove his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of pedestrians was shown at the end of BlacKkKlansman.
"That car drove down that one street in [Charlottesville], Virginia, and the president of the United States did not reject, refute [or] did not denounce the Klan, alt-right and neo-Nazis," Lee said backstage following his award win. "This film, whether we won best picture or not, this film will stand the test of time being on the right side of history."
During his acceptance speech, Lee urged people to "do the right thing" and vote against Trump in next year's presidential election. "The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let's all mobilize. Let's all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate," Lee said.
In a Monday morning tweet, Trump attacked Lee's remarks. "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, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres," Trump wrote.
The infographic below, provided by Statista, illustrates how this year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture fared in critic and audience ratings.
Lee also expressed his disappointment that Green Book was given the Academy Award for best picture and appeared to attempt to storm out of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles in protest.
After being asked about his reaction to best picture winner backstage, Lee responded: "The ref made a bad call."
Actor Javier Bardem, as he presented the award for best foreign film alongside actress Angela Bassett, also seemed to take a swing at Trump and his immigration policies. Speaking in his native Spanish, Bardem told the audience: "There are no borders or walls that can restrain ingenuity and talent," apparently referring to Trump's demand for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"In any region of any country of any continent, there are always great stories that move us," Bardem continued. "And tonight we celebrate the excellence and importance of the cultures and languages of different countries."
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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