Accusations Of Homophobia Against Samuel L. Jackson After Anti-Trump Tweet
Though the prospect of such a thing was laughable less than a decade ago, today Twitter can be a career-defining tool. Aside from Twitter being one of the most prominent methods of communication to the American people for President Donald J. Trump, he has also used the social media platform to make vague threats of nuclear war. It’s not surprising, then, that opposition to Trump might take him to task on his own playing field.
Yesterday, Pulp Fiction actor Samuel L. Jackson made a less-than-polite tweet aimed at the 72-year-old president. Actually, the tweet was downright graphic and featured an image of a product called “After D*ck Mints.”
According to Deadline, many Twitter users, including actor Adam Baldwin, have expressed outrage at the actor perpetuating what they feel is homophobia or “gay shaming.” Baldwin used the term “gay shaming” on Twitter before deleting the tweet soon after. Other Twitter users called for Capital One to fire the 69-year-old actor. As to whether or not such a thing will actually transpire remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, celebrities airing controversial views on Twitter are going to receive significant backlash, from either the right, the left, or in Jackson’s case, both.
Samuel L. Jackson is known for being particularly confrontational in terms of language. The actor is famous for dropping the F-bomb in many of his films. He’s also considered a regular casting choice for director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has come under fire many times for inclusion of racial epithets prominently in nearly all of his films. One scene in particular from Pulp Fiction sees Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson standing in a kitchen arguing about whether or not Tarantino’s character has a sign on his garage offering storage for deceased African-Americans, though the word “African-American” is never used.
Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in well over 100 films and is considered an American icon by many. Whether or not political correctness should be an absolute within our society, or if those offended by off-color jokes are just overly sensitive, is an ongoing debate dating back decades before the arrival of Donald Trump to the Oval Office. Comedian George Carlin raged against political correctness in the early-’90s and even some in the late-’80s.
The argument ultimately boils down to one side believing they are being unjustly censored, while the other side feels innocent people are being victimized by casual hatred. In the end, both sides have their points, but the first amendment is clear when it comes to restricting free speech — it’s against it.
On the other hand, censorship only applies to governing congressional entities. What Capital One or other companies wish to do in response to Jackson’s words is entirely up to them.
