Until you do right by me…
“Hunger Games” actress Elizabeth Banks found herself in hot water Thursday for accusing one famed filmmaker of excluding women from his projects.
According to entertainment website thewrap.com, the entertainer expressed her frustration with the lack of female representation in the industry starting with Steven Spielberg.
“I went to see ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Jaws’ and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made, and by the way, he’s never made a movie with a female lead,” she said while accepting an award from non-profit group Women in Film.
Banks’ comments were followed by a storm of tweets from people who reminded her about his Oscar-nominated and critically acclaimed flick “The Color Purple,” which featured a nearly all female cast including Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Margaret Avery.
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@ElizabethBanks what's ur address? Wanna send u a DVD of The Color Purple—an awesome film u've obviously never seen https://t.co/VqHnDMpYP0
— Quinoa & Cornrows® (@SigmaR3LLA) June 15, 2017
If I see ANY ONE trying to defend Elizabeth Banks statement about Spielberg and women by panning The Color Purple
— Ash-teroid Blues (@tokenblackchick) June 15, 2017
I
WILL
FIGHT pic.twitter.com/ciGUA2fQqh
So let's get past the fact that Banks totally ignored The Color Purple. Hmmmmm? I wonder why? Crazy right? https://t.co/srYv9Ltd7O
— Melanie Dione (@beauty_jackson) June 15, 2017
Translation: "He never made a movie where I was offered the lead. Or had a female lead that I cared about(The Color Purple)." pic.twitter.com/zIPgR2tmVq
— Jay Dav-O (@ChocnessMonsta) June 15, 2017
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Adding to the flames, columnist Anne Thompson claimed “The Color Purple,” which made it to Broadway, was one the earliest flops in Spielberg’s career.
🌹 (@ADuralde) June 15, 2017Was it? I thought it made $ but lost Oscars. But I trust your memory.
— Alonso Duralde
On the Color Purple you are totally right! $93 million domestic! 78% Metacritic. No Oscars out of 10 noms.
— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) June 15, 2017
Many tweeps, who seemed to be unfamiliar with Bank’s and Thompson’s careers, weren’t having the cult classic slander and questioned Bank’s definition of female representation.
The Color Purple was not a flop. It's a classic in black culture. Also who is Elizabeth Banks?
— fancymistee (@MJP_1908) June 15, 2017
"Critics" like @akstanwyck (who called The Color Purple a flop) is why we must have diversity in media. Culturally unqualified to judge!
— Karen Hunter (@karenhunter) June 15, 2017
The Color Purple was so successful it went to Broadway AND was revived! Like... https://t.co/GglCQ2AyWo
— king crissle (@crissles) June 15, 2017
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