Spike Lee has reacted to Donald Trump calling his Oscars speech “a racist hit on your President”.
The writer-director received a standing ovation at the prestigious awards ceremony after winning an Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman.
He called on the audience to “make the moral choice between love versus hate” at the 2020 presidential election and to “do the right thing”.
Trump was quick to respond on Twitter, claiming he “has done more for African Americans than almost any other Pres”.
Questioned about the president’s reaction the morning after the Oscars, Lee told EW he had seen the Tweet and called it an attempt to “change the narrative”.
“Well, it’s okee-doke, you know,” he said, reportedly shrugging.
“They change the narrative. They did the same thing with the African-American players who were kneeling, trying to make it into an anti-American thing, an anti-patriotic thing, and an anti-military thing,” he explained. “But no one’s going for that.”
Rather than dwell on the moment, Lee says he’s looking forward to the next project – Da 5 Bloods, starring Chadwick Boseman, that’s due to start filming in Thailand.
Lee also made headlines on Oscar night after reportedly storming off in disgust after Green Book was announced as Best Picture winner.
“Every time someone is driving somewhere, I lose,” he said following the incident. ”They changed the seating arrangement.”
Green Book, which stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, has been widely criticised for falling foul to the “white saviour” trope. Its victory was a shock with many believing Netflix drama Roma would win the main prize.
Elsewhere, The Favourite star Olivia Colman won Best Actress shortly after Rami Malek took home Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor for Green Book, while Regina King won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in If Beale Street Could Talk.
