Spike Lee, Angered When ‘Green Book’ Won Best Picture Oscar, Attempts to Leave: Reports

Jack Phillips
2/25/2019
Updated:
2/25/2019

Director Spike Lee’s film “BlacKkKlansman” was up for the Best Picture award during the Oscars but didn’t get it. The film, “Green Book,” was awarded the prize instead.

Reports said that Lee, who has never won a Best Picture Oscar, appeared to try and storm out of the awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Lee said the “Green Book” win was like a referee making “the wrong call” during a sports game, Fox News reported.

According to Deadline, Lee got furious and walked to the back of the auditorium “in a huff.”

“He then turned back and appeared to get into an intense conversation with Jordan Peele, who was behind him. Lee paced the aisle and stormed to the back of the auditorium,” the website reported.

Lee then came back and turned his back during the acceptance speech for “Green Book.”

Peele, who was the “BlacKkKlansman” writer, also appeared to not applaud the winner.

The director also got angered when his 1989 film “Do the Right Thing” lost to “Driving Miss Daisy.” He told New York Magazine years later that “when Driving Miss [expletive] Daisy won Best Picture, that hurt. [But] no one’s talking about ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ now.”

But on the night of Feb. 24, Lee won his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay along with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmot.

“I’m snakebitten,“ Lee said after the show, Fox reported. ”I mean, every time somebody is driving somebody, I lose. But, they changed the seating arrangement. But, in 89 I didn’t get nominated, so this one we did.”

Lee also said he had six glasses of champagne.

“Wait a minute, what reaction did you see? What did I do? No, I thought it was courtside at the Garden and the ref made a bad call. Courtside! The world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Knicks coming back next year,” he added.

“Green Book” stars Mahershala Ali as an African-American pianist in the 1960s and Viggo Mortensen as his driver.

President Trump, meanwhile, criticized Lee for his politically charged comments during his Oscar win.

“Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!” Trump wrote on Monday morning.

Lee’s film included footage of Trump’s remarks following the 2017 protests and riots in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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