African Americans and American Blacks...
Will Smith wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't just Spike Lee; even he, and most people in this country, believed there was a huge difference between the two. Other than both being black, there was nothing else that equated them.
No one thought those people in Africa were part of their community.
This was a simple and widely recognized fact.
Don't just ask Spike Lee; ask any black actor in Hollywood, and you'd get pretty much the same answer.
But there are many things you can think about casually but can't say out loud.
Spike Lee liked to rant, and after ranting for so many years, he probably believed some of the things he said.
Will Smith shook his head. For his acting career, he had briefly studied psychology and seemed to recall psychology mentioning this kind of situation.
"Jada, from now on, don't have any contact with Spike Lee." Will Smith couldn't control Spike Lee, so he decided to pull himself out of the situation. He was very serious as he said to Jada Smith, "No matter what the media or reporters ask, don't answer any questions about this topic."
"We're just going to ignore Spike Lee?" Jada Smith was still a bit confused.
Will Smith said directly, "Let him go to hell. Tomorrow, I will give an interview and say I didn't know about anything you said."
"Uh..." Jada Smith wanted to say something, but seeing Will Smith's stern expression, she quickly nodded, "I understand."
In the live broadcast hall, Matthew was truly stunned by Spike Lee's words. He couldn't believe that Spike Lee's racial theory had such profound and peculiar ideas.
It was simply... he couldn't find the right words to describe it.
Because he couldn't understand it at all, just like how he couldn't understand a scene in an Indian movie where a couple was fighting over whether to build a toilet at home.
He wasn't one of them, and some things he considered common sense didn't necessarily apply to them.
The audience was also stunned by this theory.
Gilberto Silva instinctively felt that Spike Lee had a point. They were different from African blacks, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the difference lay.
"Director Lee, please watch your words!" Oprah righteously warned Spike Lee, "What you're saying is discriminatory against Africa!"
"I..." Spike Lee couldn't help but speak his mind after seeing these pretentious people. Realizing it was inappropriate, he quickly changed the topic, pointing at Matthew again and saying, "Even if what you're showing is true, can you deny that you helped Eva Green, a white actress, steal the role of the witch from Naomi Harris? You're clearly discriminating in the crew!"
He didn't bring up other issues because, as far as he knew, Naomi Harris's case was the closest to the truth and the most reliable.
Today's situation was very unfavorable. Spike Lee hoped to salvage some of his reputation. As long as Matthew Horner had even a hint of racial discrimination, he wouldn't be completely defeated. He could go back and stay silent for a couple of months, and then, relying on his racial advantage, he could come back and continue his rants.
"Didn't Miss Naomi Harris tell you something?" Matthew asked curiously.
Spike Lee adjusted his glasses and said, "Tell me what? Don't try to change the subject. Don't try to argue."
There was a burst of laughter from the audience. Even Oprah felt that Spike Lee was exceptionally thick-skinned; he was clearly the one trying to change the topic.
Matthew shook his head and pulled out another USB drive from his pocket. Originally, he didn't want to use this video because it was captured by surveillance.
Seeing this, Spike Lee immediately felt uneasy and instinctively asked, "What's that?"
Matthew didn't answer him. Oprah, standing for justice, immediately called over the staff. The staff was very enthusiastic, almost running over to get the USB drive from Matthew and then running back to the backstage.
In less than half a minute, the video appeared on the big screen again.
"It's true there's no evidence, but I... I'm Naomi Harris, a black actress. As long as I say this to the media, you'll be haunted by the scandal of racial discrimination. Given the current situation in Hollywood..."
This was clearly a surveillance video. The audio wasn't very clear, but it was enough for the live audience and TV viewers to hear.
It was a black woman facing Matthew Horner, threatening him!
"Don't think you'll get away with this!"
"Give me the role of the witch, or I'll say you're racially discriminating."
This final statement left everyone dumbfounded. So, Naomi Harris's claim of racial discrimination was actually this.
Spike Lee was instantly dumbfounded. Naomi Harris had never told him and James Jackson about this incident, about this conversation with Matthew Horner.
This... this was like slapping his own face!
Naomi Harris had taken his money but hadn't told him the truth.
Backstage, James Jackson had fully understood that things were completely out of his and Spike Lee's control. He had directly contacted Naomi Harris before. After hearing the situation from Jada Smith, he specifically approached Naomi Harris. From this actress, who had been abandoned by her agency, he learned the secrets of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" crew. Spike Lee had paid a hefty sum for this and had promised to boost her career.
Who knew she hadn't told the truth... no, she hadn't told the whole story.
Come to think of it, if she had told the whole story, she wouldn't have earned this money, right?
James Jackson suddenly remembered something and took out his phone to call Naomi Harris, but it prompted that her phone was turned off. He then called Naomi Harris's landlord, who answered and said Naomi Harris had moved out the day before yesterday, supposedly leaving Los Angeles...
"That bitch!" James Jackson couldn't guess it any other way. The idiot they thought Naomi Harris was had scammed Spike Lee out of a sum of money and then disappeared.
Not far away, Helen Herman rarely smiled. They had achieved an overwhelming victory!
But no one knew how much work and effort they had put in to achieve today's victory.
"Fraud!"
"Con artist!"
"Go to hell, Spike Lee!"
Although the director required background noise to be muted, the chaotic curses on-site couldn't be heard by the TV audience but could reach Spike Lee's ears.
He looked at the audience, many black people mixed in with others, all angrily cursing at him!
Then, he turned to look at Matthew Horner, who was sitting there calmly as he had been when he first arrived, as if he didn't consider him an enemy at all.
How could this be? Spike Lee couldn't understand. I am black, so how can they curse at me? These people are engaging in racial discrimination! Why isn't anyone stopping this criminal behavior?
Backstage, James Jackson wanted to rush onto the stage, quickly interrupt the broadcast, and drag Spike Lee back, but like the previous times, he was immediately surrounded by several strong and burly security personnel from the production company.
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an honest, professional, and well-rounded program. How could it allow anyone to interrupt?
James Jackson didn't make a rash move. Even if he rushed up, it would be futile, and his phone rang. He thought it was Naomi Harris calling back. Without looking, he immediately answered.
It was Spike Lee's lawyer, informing him of some very bad news.
On the stage, Spike Lee stared intently at Matthew. In just a few seconds, countless thoughts crossed his mind.
He remembered this Matthew Horner. He wouldn't let Matthew Horner off the hook. This time, he had lost so much face on the show. In the future, he would keep an eye on Matthew Horner. After all, he had the advantage of his race and years of experience in causing trouble. He could come back anytime.
"Fraud!"
"Get off the stage, fraud!"
The audience continued to curse. Oprah wanted to stop them but then thought that adding these scenes to the DVD release later would likely boost sales, so she closed her mouth and let the audience continue cursing loudly.
All the curses reached Gilberto Silva's ears, but the young black man didn't join in. Instead, he felt a few eggs in his bag.
Those were eggs his grandmother had forgotten in the attic. Who knew how many months or years they'd been there?
Gilberto Silva kept watching Spike Lee. From Spike Lee's eyes staring at Matthew, he read hatred and resentment.
Such a scumbag, such a rotten person, such a despicable fraud, why... why does he resent Matthew?
Gently rotating the rotten eggs in his hand, Gilberto Silva finally saw his opportunity. The staff near him, assisting the cameraman with the sliding track camera, had moved to another location.
There were no more obstacles between him and the stage; it was a clear path.
Gilberto Silva didn't hesitate and did what he had wanted to do when he saw the video. He took two long strides and charged onto the stage, and amidst the surprised sounds, he threw the eggs in his hand.
As the pitcher for his community baseball team, he had quite the skill in throwing.
After throwing the first egg, before anyone could react, Gilberto Silva quickly threw the second egg at Spike Lee.
Smack—smack—
Two eggs hit Spike Lee's forehead one after the other. Spike Lee felt something hit his head, making him a bit dizzy. A peculiar, foul smell reached his nose, almost making him faint.
Then, a large amount of something started dripping down from his forehead, blurring his vision.
Spike Lee immediately pointed in the direction the eggs came from, pointing at Gilberto Silva, whose face was darker than his, and shouted, "Who did it? This is racial discrimination!"
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