HOLLYWOOD — No playing nice in the sandbox this weekend for two of Hollywood’s most high-profile women who had a lot to say over a comment made by Colin Kaepernick.
To begin at the beginning, as they say, Kaepernick made a post on Twitter in reference to the recent killing of one of Iran’s top leaders, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The former NFL player, who was ousted after refusing to kneel during the National Anthem, was criticizing the Trump administration’s killing of the leader as an “American terrorist [attack] against Black and Brown people.”
“There is nothing new about American terrorist attacks against Black and Brown people for the expansion of American imperialism,” Kaepernick posted, to which journalist and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly replied, “Because everything is racist. Everything. Even fighting back against terrorists who kill Americans. Nike, feeling proud?”
Because everything is racist. Everything. Even fighting back against terrorists who kill Americans. Nike, feeling proud? https://t.co/sfc1Yz3phY
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) January 4, 2020
Well Ava Duvernay, the first black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for the movie “Selma,” quickly came to Kaepernick’s defense, telling Kelly she should be ashamed of herself.
Shame on you, Megyn.
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 5, 2020
Kelly showed no signs of backing down, replying, “No, I will not be shamed over calling out bullshit claims of racism – which undermine the legitimate claims. Killing a terrorist is not about skin color; it’s about protecting our country from a guy who murdered hundreds of Americans, period.”
And in the back-and-forth, the “When They See Us” director boldly called Kelly a barrage of names, including desperate, attention seeking and ignorant. OUCH!
You should be ashamed. Educate yourself before you talk about racism and legitimate claims. You sound like what you are. Ignorant. Attention seeking. And desperate.
That will be all.
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 5, 2020
Kelly’s words have landed her in the hot seat before. She was fired by NBC in October 2018 for defending blackface during an episode of her morning show. She is now being portrayed by Charlize Theron in “Bombshell,” a movie highlighting her controversial career.
To be fair, she was not the only person to disagree with Kaepernick’s thoughts, with producer/director Robby Starbuck response tweeting, “You realize the guy we killed, Soleimani, was responsible for killing 600+ Americans including Black & Brown Americans… right? I’m guessing you don’t since you thought Fidel Castro was a good guy despite stealing everything from innocent families like mine. Idiotic & vile take.”
You realize the guy we killed, Soleimani, was responsible for killing 600+ Americans including Black & Brown Americans… right? I’m guessing you don’t since you thought Fidel Castro was a good guy despite stealing everything from innocent families like mine. Idiotic & vile take.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 4, 2020
No matter which side we are on or how we feel, a few things remain true: war is hell, racism is hell and social media remains a battlefield where people battle over whatever is on their minds.
