Oprah says: ‘You Cannot be My Friend’ if You Use the N-word In the process of promoting their new film, “The Butler,” Oprah Winfrey, co-star Forest Whitaker and director Lee Daniels discussed race and of course the n-word. Oprah made it clear that she’s not down with using the word at all. And if you use it (around her), you can’t be down with her. Hmm, that means Paula Deen can’t be her friend. Neither can Rae Dawn Chong (who called Lady O the n-word recently), Philadelphia Eagles’ Riley Cooper, Jay Z, as well as 99 percent of all rappers and of course, millions of black folks. “You cannot be my friend and use that word around me. It shows my age, but I feel strongly about it,” she tells Parade magazine. “… I always think of the millions of people who heard that as their last word as they were hanging from a tree.” How does Whitaker, 52, feel about it? He says, “I don’t use the word. Never did.” On the other hand, Daniels, 53, came clean as far as his usage of it: “It’s a word I used quite a bit, until Oprah sat me down and talked to me about its power.” Whitaker and Daniels also talked their encounters with racism in America. “I’ve had any incidents in my life of racism,” says Whitaker. “I’ve been thrown on the ground. I’ve been frisked. I’ve been arrested so many times I couldn’t tell you. I have no need to talk about it. Added Daniels: “It’s a given. I can’t even get a taxi [in New York]. I send my [white] assistant out to get a taxi because I can’t.”
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:30:08 +0000
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