Seeing Matthew's silence, the audience's eyes all fell on him. This seemingly unanswerable situation easily led people to think that everything Spike Lee said was true.
Spike Lee's accusations continued, and Matthew remained silent, as if he had nothing to refute.
"No way."
"Is Matthew admitting it?"
Sitting in the front row, Gilberto Silva could hear the murmurs from the people behind him.
"Is he really racist?"
"How disgraceful."
"What a fraud!"
"We supported him for nothing!"
These voices all reached Gilberto Silva's ears, as if urging him to do something. His eyes also fell on Matthew, feeling both anger and doubt. In terms of demeanor and outward appearance, this person seemed to be on their side!
Could he really be a fraud?
Thinking of frauds, Gilberto Silva's hand once again reached into his bag, touching an egg.
In Los Angeles, Vin Diesel, who had just turned on the TV due to a last-minute issue, heard Spike Lee's torrent of accusations. That bastard Matthew Horner seemed to be at a loss for words, and the charge of racism was about to stick.
He felt elated, walked over to the bar, poured himself a drink, and sipped it while preparing to enjoy Matthew Horner's embarrassment.
Even though Matthew Horner seemed calm now, just silent, Vin Diesel believed it wouldn't be long before that guy would start panicking.
Seeing a long-standing grudge about to be avenged, especially since he was personally involved, Vin Diesel felt ecstatic, downing a glass of whiskey in one go.
In a mansion, Jada Smith, relaxed, said to Will Smith, "I told you, Matthew Horner is no match for Spike."
Seeing the silent Matthew Horner on the TV screen, Will Smith nodded and said admiringly, "When it comes to using our race to make a fuss, no one in Hollywood can match Spike Lee."
Whether Spike Lee was stirring the pot or spouting nonsense, in the Hollywood environment and under the racial backdrop, his words were beyond questioning.
To question them was to be racist.
Will Smith looked at the TV screen again and said to Jada Smith, "It seems I can come out directly now."
To gain the most, he had to come out and speak loudly. He could do it as soon as tomorrow.
Too bad, the biggest spotlight would still go to Spike Lee alone.
In the Westwood house, the atmosphere was almost frozen. Everyone was tight-lipped, not speaking. The person they supported was completely on the defensive.
"Brian, why isn't Matthew fighting back?" Thompson asked.
"He's probably waiting for the best opportunity," Brian knew Matthew's assistant had gathered a lot of material from here. "Being ahead now doesn't mean winning."
In the live broadcast hall, Spike Lee looked at Matthew, a barely noticeable smile playing on his lips, as if his enemy was about to be defeated and victory was imminent.
Eighty percent of what he said was true, and the remaining lies were entirely built on the truth, making them hard to refute. He wasn't afraid of Matthew Horner fighting back and was waiting for him to speak.
Whatever Matthew Horner said, in the context of race, Spike Lee had a hundred ways to rebut him.
In this fight, he was sure to win!
Spike Lee's smile grew more pronounced, about to appear. He was ready with his victor's smile, ready to show at any moment.
"Matthew Horner, you lack respect for black people," Spike Lee continued, "Stop trying to defend yourself. You're an extremist!"
At this point, he finally paused, ready to catch his breath and then launch another attack to completely destroy Matthew Horner!
Matthew didn't argue and decided not to argue for the moment. Given the current situation, whatever he said, Spike Lee could rebut with those pot-stirring arguments, even he found them troubling.
So, he pulled out a USB drive and an external hard drive from his pocket.
"Ms. Winfrey," Matthew said to Oprah, "I have some materials here."
He first gestured with the USB drive and external hard drive in his hand, then pointed to the large screen at the back of the studio. "Can we play them?"
Since Spike Lee took the stage, Oprah had been silent because she knew how sensitive the debate between these two was. Even as a black woman, she didn't want to intervene lightly.
"Sure," Oprah knew Matthew had something prepared.
She gestured, and immediately a staff member walked up to the stage, took the USB drive and external hard drive from Matthew, and Matthew whispered a few words to the staff member, who quickly returned backstage with the devices.
"What is he doing?" Spike Lee was puzzled.
Not just him, everyone watching the TV, both in the studio and at home, was confused.
Spike Lee glanced at Matthew. "Does he have something on me?"
Oprah couldn't remain silent any longer. Taking advantage of the time for the backstage to check and prepare the playback, she asked Matthew, "What is this?"
Matthew, still with his calm and friendly demeanor, said, "Some video material." He then raised his voice, "No matter what is said, it's all just words!"
Hearing this last sentence, Spike Lee's lips trembled slightly, ready to retort.
But Matthew's voice was loud and fast, "After watching these, I'm sure everyone will have a more direct impression of me and a judgment on Director Lee's words. I won't say more to avoid being accused of misleading everyone with my words."
Oprah remained expressionless, but she internally raised her opinion of Matthew. Compared to the loud and repetitive Spike Lee, Matthew Horner seemed more composed, calm, and dignified.
In terms of image and demeanor, Matthew Horner's few words overshadowed Spike Lee, subtly guiding the audience to doubt Spike Lee's baseless accusations.
This man was not simple!
With her years of experience and keen intuition, Oprah sensed that today, Spike Lee might...
Her wireless earpiece hidden under her hair buzzed with the director's instructions. Oprah immediately said, "Let's watch the big screen."
All eyes, including Matthew's and Spike Lee's, turned to the large screen on the stage backdrop.
The screen then lit up, and photos began playing like a slideshow.
At the red carpet premiere, Matthew signed an autograph for a black girl, then hugged her in the next photo; in another photo, Matthew was at an event, with his arm around a black guy's shoulder, making a V-sign together...
"Damn discrimination!"
In the Westwood house, seeing his photo with Matthew appear, Thompson shouted, "F@#@ Spike Lee, are you blind?"
Backstage, the director ordered, "Switch to camera three."
On the TV screen, a close-up of Spike Lee's face appeared.
His dark face was expressionless, seemingly in a daze.
Without thinking, Thompson raised a middle finger at Spike Lee on the TV screen, followed by everyone in the house doing the same.
In the live broadcast hall, Gilberto Silva's hand withdrew from the bag. Someone willing to have so much interaction with black people, even hugging them, could he be racist?
He looked at Spike Lee. This bastard almost made him misunderstand Matthew!
Spike Lee's painstaking rhetoric was nowhere near as powerful as these images. Hearing third-party testimony couldn't compare to the impact of seeing it with their own eyes.
The audience felt Spike Lee was despicable...
The pictures kept flipping, not too fast, but clear enough to see. After the photos, short videos played, showing Matthew warmly interacting with black fans. No matter how you looked at it, there was no hint of distance between Matthew and those black people.
The final video showed Matthew in a hospital room, hugging a bald black child, lifting the child up, and speaking to him intimately, though the words were inaudible, it was clear he was encouraging the child.
The hospital room and the bald head immediately made people think of leukemia.
The video stopped at the image of Matthew holding the black child. Oprah immediately asked, "Is this a child with leukemia?"
"Yes," Matthew nodded and pointed to the date shown in the video, "This was in June when I met a leukemia patient at the California Medical Center, not yet six years old."
He didn't say much. In this situation, images spoke a thousand words.
Moreover, saying too much might give the impression of deliberate justification.
Spike Lee remained silent. He hadn't seen much news about this before and wondered why Matthew Horner didn't publicize it?
Photos with fans were understandable, celebrities needed fans, and that was easy to dismiss. But the last video...
He didn't know that Matthew wasn't avoiding publicity but was saving these for a big reveal, to collect more donations for future charity events.
Oprah then asked, "Director Lee, do you still believe Matthew is racially prejudiced?"
No matter what, she was giving Spike Lee a way out. Her earpiece had more instructions from the director. If Spike Lee knew when to stop, there would still be room to maneuver.
But Spike Lee, having relied on racial issues successfully for over a decade, didn't hesitate to say, "What does this prove?" He questioned, "These Hollywood stars are good at acting. This is all for show..."
"Ms. Winfrey!" Matthew suddenly interrupted Spike Lee. "Please ask the director to continue playing."
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