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Jamie Foxx has explained the coaching Samuel L. Jackson took Leonardo DiCaprio through while filming Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.
Released in 2012, Django Unchained was a huge commercial and critical success; a revisionist Western film, it stars Jamie Foxx as the titular character, an enslaved Black man who teams up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to rescue his kidnapped wife (Kerry Washington) from a sadistic white land owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Django Unchained ultimately gained five nominations at the Academy Awards, but its release didn't come without controversy.
Critics and audiences at the time were quick to point out the large amount of graphic violence included in the film, as well as the amounts of racial slurs.
In the film, DiCaprio takes the role of Calvin J. Candie, the picture's main villain. Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson plays Stephen, Candie's house slave.
In an interview with Howard Stern, Foxx remembered how hesitant DiCaprio was to say the N-word on camera (throughout the film, the slur is used approximately 110 times).
"For Leo, it was tough because Leo had to say [the n-word] a whole lot," Foxx said. "You know why that's tough? Because if it goes horribly wrong, you're going to be branded a f**king racist a**hole."
Foxx said on a set filled with 'Titans' like himself, Jackson, and Tarantino, DiCaprio was able to overcome his hesitation, especially after some rather direct advice from Jackson.
"Leo had a problem," Foxx said. "And Samuel L. Jackson said 'Hey motherf**ker, hey motherf**ker! you say that s**t, it's just another Tuesday with these motherf**kers. F**k these motherf**kers!"
For what it's worth, Foxx said that he also had his own advice for DiCaprio: "I told Leo that in slavery days we would never talk to each other. I’m not your friend. I’m not Jamie Foxx. I’m Django."
Samuel L. Jackson corroborated Foxx's story in a later interview with The Times, where also admitted that the controversy around the use of the racial slur in the film - which was set during a time period where it was very much part of everyday vernacular - was "unfair" on the director himself.
"Every time someone wants an example of overuse of the N-word, they go to Quentin," Jackson said. "It's unfair. He's just telling the story and the characters do talk like that."
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Kanye West is claiming to have been the brains behind Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 movie Django Unchained.
During an interview with fellow controversial figure Piers Morgan on Friday, the rapper, who officially changed his name to "Ye" last year, said that he had pitched the premise for the slavery-themed Western as the concept for his 'Gold Digger' music video.
“The idea for ‘Django’ I pitched to [actor] Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino as the video for ‘Gold Digger,’” Kanye said, referring to his 2005 hit song. “And then Tarantino turned it into a film.”
Django Unchained centers around a freed slave (played by Foxx) who sets out to save his wife (played by Kerry Washington) from a ruthless plantation owner in Mississippi (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) with the aid of a bounty hunter from Germany (played by Christoph Waltz).
Tarantino and Foxx are yet to publicly respond to Kanye's claims.
This comes after it was reported that Kanye had hired Johnny Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez.
The 'Praise God' hitmaker has reportedly hired a team of lawyers to counsel him on a "variety of business matters". Among the experts advising him is none other than Camille Vasquez - the star attorney who skyrocketed to fame when she defended Depp in his defamation trial over the summer.
Law firm Brown Rudnick - where Vasquez is a partner - told CBS News that the team would be giving West legal counsel.
Details as to what exactly they'd be counseling him on were not provided.
Anyone who followed Depp's multi-million dollar defamation trial earlier this year will instantly recognize Vasquez, who went viral for ruthlessly grilling his ex-wife, Amber Heard, on the witness stand.
For a while, fans even speculated that Depp and Vasquez might be enjoying more than a simply professional relationship, pointing out how friendly they looked during courtroom proceedings.
But having helped the Pirates of the Caribbean star win his trial, it looks like Vasquez has turned her attention to helping another high-profile celeb.
Earlier this week, the 'Stronger' artist found himself in hot water with the family of George Floyd after implying that he died as a result of drugs.
During a since-removed appearance on the Drink Champs podcast, West told hosts: "I watched the George Floyd documentary that Candace Owens put out," per ABC News.
"One of the things that his two roommates said was they want a tall guy like me, and the day that he died, he said a prayer for eight minutes," West continued, adding: "They hit him with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that."
Quentin Tarantino has responded to Kanye West's claims that he and Jamie Foxx stole his idea for the 2012 movie Django Unchained.
During an interview with fellow controversial figure Piers Morgan last week, the rapper, who officially changed his name to "Ye" last year, said that he had pitched the premise for the slavery-themed Western as the concept for his 'Gold Digger' music video.
“The idea for ‘Django’ I pitched to [actor] Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino as the video for ‘Gold Digger,’” West said, referring to his 2005 hit song. “And then Tarantino turned it into a film.”
Now, Tarantino has responded to the allegation during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday.
Tarantino told Kimmel: "There's not truth to the idea that Kanye West came up with the idea of Django. And then he told it to me and I go, 'Hey, wow, that's a really great idea, let me take Kanye's idea and make Django Unchained out of it.' OK that didn't happen."
"I'd had the idea for a while before I ever met Kanye," explained Tarantino, adding: "He did have an idea for a video, and I do think it was for the 'Gold Digger' video, that he would be a slave.
"And the whole thing was the slave narrative, where he's the slave, and he's singing 'Gold Digger.' And it was very funny. It was a really, really funny idea." However, being a slave in the video seemed to be the only similarity."
"It was meant to be ironic," said Tarantino. "It's like a huge musical. I mean, like, no expenses spared, all right? With him in this, like, slave rag outfit doing everything. Then that was also part of the pushback on it. But, I wish he had done it. It sounded really cool. Anyway, that's what he's referring to."
Django Unchained centers around a freed slave (played by Foxx) who sets out to save his wife (played by Kerry Washington) from a ruthless plantation owner in Mississippi (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) with the aid of a bounty hunter from Germany (played by Christoph Waltz).
Tributes have been paid in memory of Keith Jefferson after the Django: Unchained actor died at the age of 53.
Jefferson was best known for starring in several of Quentin Tarantino's movies, including Django: Unchained in 2012, The Hateful Eight in 2015, as well as Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
News of his death was confirmed after co-star Jamie Foxx shared a tribute to him on social media, alongside a photo of the two of them together.
He told his followers: "Everything hurts right now having a hard time looking through these pictures reliving the memories of us having a great time going to miss you man gonna miss you…
"Ever since we met back in college, you have been in incredible soul God rest, NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO SEE THE WORDS ABOUT MY FRIEND RIP @keith.jefferson Keith."
Foxx, 55, had recently starred alongside Jefferson in the legal drama film The Burial, and the pair had been long-time friends since meeting at US International University in San Diego.
Jefferson's death comes two months after he revealed to his followers that he had been battling cancer in private.
He shared a photo of him in a hospital bed as he told his followers in August that he had been undergoing treatment.
Jefferson explained: "Every now and then God will give you a challenge and leave it up to you to fix it. When I was first diagnosed with cancer I had to stop, pause, and didn’t want to share with anyone. Not my family nor extended family.
"Today I’m finally at a place to share because my faith is getting stronger. I have a loving family and the best friends in the entire world. You know who you are.
"From my Mom to J Foxx and everybody in between. I love you whole heartedly. We are cut from the same cloth and that cloth is the human condition. Remember…'faith is the last thing you can lose.' I’m not about to lose that."
Other friends and fans took to the comments of Foxx's post to share their sorrow, writing: "I went to his page. It brought tears to my eyes, (not knowing him), but to see a black man living, creating, taking risks, doing what he loved and winning!! You’re with the Father. Take your rest. Your work lives on."
Another added: "My dear lifelong friend since 1st grade….. You will be missed more than you could ever imagine. Heaven gained an AMAZING ANGEL today. My heart is broken…. Until we meet again ~ All my love now and forever Keith."
A third commented: "Oh God not Keith! Man, he was great. He was so great and humble and was always in good spirits when we would chop it up on set. God please cover his family and all whose life he impacted. Praying for you Jamie."
Our thoughts remain with Keith Jefferson's family, friends, and loved ones at this difficult time.
Quentin Tarantino has reportedly tapped up writer Jerrod Carmichael to help him create a Django/Zorro movie, based on a comic with the same name.
The comic, released by DC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment and written by Tarantino himself, serves as a direct sequel to the 2012 film Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Jamie Foxx as the titular Django.
Here is the trailer for 2012's Django Unchained:
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The comic book series is set several years after the events of Django, where Django is still a freed slave-turned bounty hunter. Since there's a bounty on him in the east, Django carries out jobs in the west, sending his earnings back to his wife Broomhilda, whom he settles in Chicago.
It's at this point that he comes across an aging Diego de la Vega - better known as Zorro - and discovers he can hold his own in a fight. Django soon joins Vega as his bodyguard, and they soon go on a mission to free the indigenous people in the area from slavery.
This might sound like a brand new idea, but plans for this movie have been in the works for a while. The 2014 Sony hack showed an email exchange between Tarantino and then-Sony boss Amy Pascal. "D/Z could be really fun!" Tarantino says enthusiastically in one such message, while Pascal confirmed she thought the series was "super cool".
Though we know that such a movie is in development, a lot of details are still to be confirmed. While Sony and Tarantino have been in discussions about the film, we can't be sure that Sony will be producing the film, and there's no way of telling whether or not Quentin Tarantino will direct the film, either.
It'll be really interesting to see what Tarantino does - and what script Carmichael comes up with too. Jerrod Carmichael is best known for The Carmichael Show, a sitcom that earned rave reviews for the way it handled issues such as race. With both Tarantino and Carmichael on the project, this could be an interesting film to look out for.
The 79th annual British Academy Film Awards were meant to be a celebration of cinematic excellence. Instead, the night has been overshadowed by a deeply controversial moment — and now Jamie Foxx is leading the backlash.
While actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage presenting the award for Best Visual Effects, Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson shouted a racial slur from the audience.
The moment, which aired despite the ceremony being broadcast on a two-hour delay, immediately sparked outrage — and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to respond.
But it’s Foxx’s reaction that has ignited the fiercest debate.
The Django Unchained star did not hold back after a clip of the moment at London’s Royal Festival Hall surfaced online.
Commenting under an Instagram post featuring footage of the incident, Foxx wrote: “he meant that s***”.
In a second comment, he added: “Out of all the words, you could've said Tourette's makes you say that… unacceptable.”
Davidson — a Tourette’s syndrome activist — was heard yelling multiple times during the ceremony. In addition to the racial slur, he could also be heard shouting “shut the f*** up” and “f*** you”.
According to Variety, Davidson left the room of his own accord during the second half of the ceremony.
The BBC later issued a statement acknowledging the broadcast of the language despite the time delay. It read: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards 2026."
“This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard," they added.
The version later uploaded to BBC iPlayer was edited.
Host Alan Cumming also addressed the situation live during the ceremony, telling attendees: “You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience.”
“Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
In a later statement, Cumming added: “Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you are offended tonight.”
While the immediate reaction focused on the broadcast itself, Delroy Lindo has now shared how he felt in the moment.
Speaking to Vanity Fair at the Warner Bros. after-party, the 73-year-old reflected on the uncomfortable exchange, saying he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while presenting the award.
However, he admitted he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterward.”
Despite the incident, Lindo was reported to be in good spirits at the afterparty. Jordan later attended a separate event hosted by British GQ and Vogue.
Davidson, 54, was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome after developing tics and uncontrollable vocalisations as a teenager.
One symptom that can affect people with Tourette’s is coprolalia — the involuntary blurting out of obscene language — though it affects only around one in 10 individuals with the condition.
The Tourette Association of America explains: "Particularly embarrassing for some individuals with coprolalia are involuntary outbursts within social contexts, such as racial or ethnic slurs in the company of the very people who would be most offended by such remarks.
"A minority of people with coprolalia have this particular problem. It is crucial to understand that these words or complex phrases do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, beliefs or opinions of the person with coprolalia."
The CDC also notes that people with Tourette’s have no control over their tics, with many comparing the sensation to “having an itch or having to sneeze”. While someone may try to suppress it, “you will probably scratch or sneeze and you will feel a little better until the urge comes back”.
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