All of a sudden Spike Lee sees himself as the voice of responsibility: a couple of weeks ago he cautioned against the seductions of reality shows that imply luck rather than hard work is the key to success.
Now he told a group in Bermuda that BET "lacks serious entertainment and that rap music promotes ignorance":
- "I was told BET was big here and I shook my head," Lee said, referring to the cable channel that billionaire Robert Johnson founded in 1980. "If you get everything from BET you are getting the wrong thing."
Spokespeople for the channel were not immediately available for comment Friday.
Lee, 45, said black films were often dumbed down or pigeonholed into comedies or gangster movies. Striving for decision-making positions in the media would give blacks more control, Lee told the mostly black audience.
Bermuda, a British territory, is 62 percent black. [AP]
Article comments
1 - Robert D
You may not think Spike Lee has the right to tell people how to live, but is he wrong? BET *is* bad television, and reality shows *do* send the message that luck is all you need. Well, luck and no compunctions whatsoever about trash-talking your fellow contestants.
2 - Eric Olsen
I don't disagree at all - very happy to hear it from someone with some - I hope - "street cred"