Spike Lee: Black people are still 'being hunted down like animals'


Director Spike Lee looked back on his iconic film Do the Right Thing at the start of this year's Cannes Film Festival, saying it remains relevant years later because Black people are still "being hunted down like animals."
Lee is serving as jury president at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and at a press conference Tuesday, he spoke about his film Do the Right Thing after its recent 32-year anniversary. Released in 1989, the movie culminates with a Black man, Radio Raheem, being killed by police.
"You would think and hope that 30-something motherf---ing years later that Black people would have stopped being hunted down like animals," Lee said, per Deadline.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the director said that "when you see brother Eric Garner, when you see king George Floyd, murdered, lynched, I think of Radio Raheem," per The Hollywood Reporter. During the press conference, Lee also blasted former President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as "gangsters."
"They have no morals and no scruples," he said. "And we have to speak out against gangsters like that."
Lee is making history as the first Black president of the Cannes Film Festival jury this year, Variety notes. As the event commenced, he praised Cannes, where Do the Right Thing was famously snubbed, as the "world's greatest film festival."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia