Rae Dawn Chong’s offensive comments about Oprah Winfrey have been defended to a degree by her dad, Tommy Chong .
The actress, who co-starred with Winfrey in the movie The Color Purple, recently went on an insulting, slur-filled rant about the billionaire talk show host.
On a radio show, Chong called Winfrey a “self-centered b*tch” and said that Oprah would have been a “field n***er” if she was born in a different time.
She subsequently made a quasi-apologetic YouTube video in which she said “it’s a most unfortunate choice of words and I regret it… Do I take back everything I said? No.”
Tommy Chong, best known for being half of the pot smoking comedy duo Cheech & Chong with Cheech Marin, told the TMZ cameras that his daughter’s remarks were were taken out of context. He also noted that at the time The Color Purple was being made, Rae Dawn was a big star while Oprah was a newcomer.
Chong added that Oprah would have become a “house lady” rather than a “field lady” because she would have used her charm and intelligence and probably would have been running the whole house. He praised Oprah as powerful and smart and “very from the heart.”
He then explained, “If you think of what [Rae] said, she said back in the day Oprah would be working in the field because she’s not that beautiful… whereas if you’re beautiful, you’re part of the master’s bedroom… it wasn’t a slam by no means.”
He also claimed that Oprah would “chuckle” over his daughter’s comments and probably agree with her. The two women may even work together again, according to Tommy Chong.
As far as the backlash against his daughter on social media, Tommy Chong said “if you play with fire, you get burned.”
What do you think of Tommy Chong’s analysis of Rae Dawn Chong’s insulting comments about Oprah?