Racist comments made by legendary actor John Wayne resurfaced and sparked controversy on social media earlier this week. The Western star made racist and homophobic comments in a 1971 Playboy interview in which the famed actor made racist and homophobic comments.
According to The Mercury News, Wayne said he believed in "white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility."
The newly resurfaced interview created an uproar on Twitter and cast light on Wayne's efforts to avoid military service during World War II, as highlighted by Hollywood producer Joe Carnahan on Twitter.
"The Duke dodged service during WWII but was still a huge hawk," Carnahan tweeted. "While Jimmy Stewart & Clark Gable were flying bombing runs over Berlin, Wayne was making fake war films."
Journalist and author Glenn Greenwald pointed out that Wayne has been seen as a template for right-wing notions of "American courage and conservative manliness, Publishers Weekly noted. This is largely because of the roles he played as a war hero and stalwart of the Wild West.
As the Mercury News noted, Wayne did “all he could to avoid military service in World War II,” which ultimately led to him assisting U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in efforts to hunt down Communists in Hollywood. Wayne held strong political and racial views, as his 1971 Playboy interview revealed
“With a lot of blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so,” Wayne said in the interview. “But we can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”
Joining the Twitter debate was screenwriter Matt Williams, who shared excerpts of the interview along with a link to the original interview in a series of posts. Patton Oswalt also took to Twitter to air his views on the matter.
“'If it’s supposed to be a black character, naturally I use a black actor' was as 'woke' as John Wayne got, I guess,” Oswalt said.
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