Lee Daniels…The Sellout

So Lee Daniels admits to being a sellout on national TV for the sake of your entertainment…interesting.

I posted the above statement on Facebook yesterday & as expected I received mixed reactions.  Some people told me “everybody has a price”, “selling out is what makes you compromise your character”, blah blah blah.  All interesting to read, but still blah at the end of the day.

Obviously I’m not in the show business & yes I am aware that there are probably certain demands placed upon entertainers for the sake of generating money, but how far would one be willing to go to “sellout” to the point they actually become comfortable with acknowledging that they are selling out on national TV simply to keep steady work coming in?  Well, apparently Lee Daniels has absolutely no issues with that as you heard in the above video clip.

Empire

As of lately, damn near every Black TV show that has hit the boob tube has faced some type of backlash or criticism from the Black community in regards to how Black people are portrayed.  Empire is no different.  I for one do not have an issue with the show Empire.  Truthfully, I’ve only watched the first 2 episodes to date & found it somewhat entertaining, but I’m not a big fan of watching TV, so I’ll just play catch up if & when it appears on Netflix.  But regardless, I’m not one of those people out there demonizing the show for promoting damn near every Black stereotype known to man like others have…

I do not subscribe to the thought that Black entertainment MUST strictly show only Black people in a positive respectable manner as if we are trying to mask over some of the ignorant ass knee grows & their niggatry within our ranks.  I fully believe entertainment aimed directly towards Black society can & is fully capable of having a healthy balance of quality respectable shows & a healthy dose of ignorant shit.  That is ideal in my mind.

When it comes to Lee Daniels in regards to his success in Hollywood especially as it relates to the hit TV show Empire, I have to take a step back & rethink some things since he has blatantly stated he’s fine with being called a sellout so as long as it keeps him in working in Hollywood.  The problem I have is, where is Lee Daniels willing to draw the line?  Empire is a product of the Fox corporation…the same people responsible for bringing you the likes of Bill O’Reilly & Sean Hannity.  Fox is owned by a man named Rupert Murdoch whom, according to Dr. Boyce Watkins, is a card-carrying member of White supremacy.  Rupert Murdoch is also the same person who stated this…

So when I hear Lee Daniels stating he’s willing to sellout in order to have his work shown in the theaters, it really makes me wonder as to what lengths is he willing to go in order to pursue success.  After gaining further insight as to who Rupert Murdoch is, then hearing Lee Daniels state he’s willing to sellout at all costs in order to be successful, then watching Empire portray every classic Black stereotype….has this brotha truly sold out?  Is Lee Daniels really directing a TV show because he wants to display a new type of Black entertainment or is he simply doing this to entertain those in the dominant society high above him who have certain views about Black society because they are putting money in his pockets?

Is Lee Daniels putting on a minstrel show for some Scooby snacks?

Surely there are tons of you out there whom will vehemently disagree with me because one of the leading characters “Cookie”, played by talented actress Taraji P. Henson, is your girl…and that’s all cool.

But let’s NOT ignore the fact that Lee Daniels unapologetically stated he has absolutely no issues with selling out in order to provide you all with entertainment.  So to that I ponder, how desperate for entertainment are you if the person providing you the entertainment is willing to compromise his standards about his own people in order to earn a check?