Nowadays, there is more and more discussion about the relevance of movies and TV shows. Fans are now quick to call out any actors seen in controversial roles. One such example involves one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, Robert Downey Jr. As he returned to acting in 2008 with Iron Man, it was also the year things could have ended badly for him.
Ben Stiller had chosen Robert Downey Jr. to go blackface for Thunder in the tropics, a Hollywood satire. However, even after years of the film’s release, the controversy is still a hot topic of debate. While the actor said he had a bad premonition about the whole thing, actor Jamie Foxx stood up to support him.
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Jamie Foxx supports Robert Downey Jr.
While appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2017, Jamie Foxx opened up about all the ordeal that comes with reading commentary as part of a project. He thinks that if an artist starts paying attention to hateful comments, they might just change the way they do things, and not in a positive way. He added that if he read all the comments, he wouldn’t be able to tell another joke.
He further talked about a movie shelved star weekend, where he played a white racist cop. The cast also had Robert Downey Jr. playing a Mexican and Gerard Butler playing a Russian.
“If you read the comments, it will encourage you to rate it. But it’s great – it’s a really cool little thing too. It’s called All-Star Weekend for a reason. It’s two guys. One guy loves Steph Curry, the other guy loves LeBron James, and all they’re trying to do is get to the all-star game and it’s like this whole journey of leading all these people, so it’s is dope. But there are things where it’s like “Oooh”. You could see there is going to be some shit.
Joe Rogan linked his lyrics as the Iron Man the actor went blackface for his role in Thunder in the tropics, saying that creators can’t do that anymore. To this, Foxx responded by saying fans need to see where it came from. He added that there are real people in the real world who mean real evil. Instead of doing something about it, he said it was much easier to target the entertainment industry. Foxx continued to say that people weren’t ready for a real fight, whether it was politics or otherwise, and that actors were easy to pick on.
The Power project The actor said he called Downey saying he wanted him to play a Mexican, which he agreed to. However, Downey texted him later saying he was nervous about taking on the role. Foxx added that the actors should be able to play different characters.
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Robert Downey Jr. was worried Thunder in the tropics
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Downey played an Australian method actor who underwent pigment-altering surgery to play a darker character in a war film. This particular role of its sparks argues even after almost fifteen years. During a promotion for Dolittle on the JRE podcast, Downey explained that he was quite worried about his role. He said he and his mother had a bad feeling about it.
While he thought it was a “bad idea” he moved on because of where his heart was. He added that Ben Stiller knew what he was doing and that 90% of Downey’s black friends liked his portrayal.
“Ben knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it, there was no way it wasn’t an offensive nightmare from a movie. 90% of my black fans were like, “Man, that was awesome.” I can’t disagree with the rest, but I know where my heart goes.
Despite his concerns, Downey received critical acclaim for his role and was even nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. However, there is not the slightest doubt that if Thunder in the tropics was due out today, cancel culture would try its hand at it.
The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is available to stream on Spotify.
Source: YouTube
