Actor Leon Robinson reveals oft-quoted line from ‘The Temptations’ was unscripted

“The Temptations” miniseries originally aired on NBC in 1998 and in the decades since, many have come to quote the line uttered by actor Leon Robinson’s character, David Ruffin.

“Ain't nobody comin' to see you, Otis!” he snaps at Otis Williams during a squabble after Ruffin proclaims audiences are looking to see him at shows.

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But according to Robinson, who is the ex of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Cynthia Bailey, the line wasn't even in the script.

“We were in rehearsals and I was David Ruffin the entire time,” Robinson explained to Tracy Clayton on the Netflix podcast “Strong Black Lead.” “And I found out later my co-stars didn't particularly care for me. But I stayed in that role the entire time so I was always thinking of things and telling the director and producers and stuff and things that I had researched and the way things were.”

Robinson said he simply uttered the phrase in rehearsal and the series’ director, Allan Arkush, said that Leon’s co-star, Charles Malik Whitfield, who played Otis Williams,” wasn’t a fan.

“You know he doesn't really like it when you say that,” Arkruh whispered into Leon’s ear.

“And I turned to him and said, ‘He's not supposed to.’ He said, ‘Did you see the reaction on his face when I said it?’ I said, ‘Isn't that what you want?’” Robinson recalled telling the director. “I just improvise a line and next thing I know, it's like, that line follows me around the world.”

It’s true that the line has endured. It’s frequently used on social media to illustrate various situations. It’s also been used in meme form.

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