The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 509

However, Matthew wasn't foolish enough to lay all his cards on the table in front of Oprah. And while Oprah was, by all accounts, "a black woman with a white heart," who could you really trust when it came to business?

Watching Spike Lee approach, Matthew carefully touched his pants pocket, where two USB flash drives were nestled.

Helen had already spoken with Oprah, and Oprah had agreed to have the show's production staff play the video footage they were provided during the live broadcast to heighten the dramatic effect.

Matthew knew exactly what Oprah wanted. Regardless of who came out on top today, Oprah would be the real winner.

"Please, have a seat, Mr. Lee," Oprah gestured to the sofa opposite Matthew. She waited for Spike Lee to sit before asking, "You need no introduction, I assume?"

Matthew gave Spike a slight nod. "Hello."

Spike shot him a sidelong glance but offered no reply.

Matthew simply smiled, his expression one of impeccable politeness.

Gilbert's first impression of Spike Lee was a poor one. He found the man intensely arrogant, and even though he was also a black man, he subconsciously decided they were not cut from the same cloth the moment he saw how the director was dressed.

"Oprah really has her finger on the pulse."Inside his mansion, Will Smith stared intently at the television screen.

Jada Smith grew a little agitated. "You're too cautious. That's why you're stuck sitting here watching Spike Lee drag Matthew's reputation through the mud instead of doing it yourself."

Backstage, Helen found the production assistant who had been relaying information to her and whispered a few words when no one else was around.

"Don't worry," the production assistant said. "I promise to keep an eye on it. There won't be any surprises."

Helen nodded softly. She had done all she could; now it was Matthew's turn to "perform" on stage.

***

On stage, without waiting for Oprah to say a word, Spike immediately launched his attack. "Do you really think you can fool everyone?"

He spoke so quickly that he gave Matthew no chance to object.

"Do you swear to God that you don't discriminate against black people?"

"Of course," Matthew replied earnestly. "If you'd like, we can go to church together after the show."

Spike Lee seemed to have anticipated that Matthew wouldn't hesitate.

"You show no proper respect for black people or black characters." Spike, who for over a decade had clung to a philosophy he regarded as truth, stared intently at Matthew and demanded, "Have you worked with any black actors since you came to Hollywood? Have you worked with any black directors or producers? Do you have any black friends?"

He raised his voice, answering for Matthew, "No!"

Matthew spread his hands and asked innocently, "And what does that prove?"

Spike raised a hand and pointed it straight at him. "It means you're a white supremacist, and that's why you're suspected of racism!"

Matthew turned his head toward Oprah, who had become effectively invisible the moment Spike started his questioning. Her expression was neutral, as if there were nothing at all wrong with what Spike Lee had just said.

Suddenly, Matthew recalled how Lee had accused Clint Eastwood and "Flags of Our Fathers," and no one but Eastwood himself had refuted it. He also remembered a black actor from "Star Wars" who had once claimed that the lack of black people in leading roles was discrimination.

It dawned on him then that many things he didn't consider to be problems were, in fact, major issues in the eyes of black people—and even many of the white people who supported them.

He thought about what Amanda had told him recently: that words like "race" and "diversity" had become a tried-and-true trump card for a certain group of people with ulterior motives. Whenever they didn't get their way, they played that card.

Faced with this growing trend, some could only bow their heads, some were privately outraged, and others dared not voice their anger, but very few would immediately rush to refute the accusations.

Just as he had done in the past, Spike Lee knew that what he was saying was outrageous and his theory was absurd. But in Hollywood, and in American society at large, it just so happened that many people and most of the mainstream media bought into such arguments. He had long ago learned a lesson that worked by virtue of the color of his skin, and it had kept him in the spotlight for more than a decade.

He waited for Matthew to try to refute him. All these theories were sophomoric, but it was easy to fall into a verbal trap by attempting to argue against them.

Outwardly, Matthew remained perfectly calm, but he sensed that Spike's words couldn't be casually dismissed—especially claims about not working with black people or having black friends. Any direct rebuttal could easily lend credence to Spike's accusations.

In today's social climate, you could be suspected of racism just for not liking black people or not socializing with them.

While other circles might be better, this situation was becoming increasingly pronounced in Hollywood.

Matthew knew he couldn't fight the entire system; after all, he had to make a living in this town.

"Mr. Lee," Matthew began, "I worked with Kelly Hu on 'The Scorpion King,' and we're still friends; she is of Asian descent. The actress I worked with on 'Dawn of the Dead' was Jessica Alba. We had a brief relationship, and she is of Latin descent."

A murmur rippled through the audience. Anyone who knew even a little about Matthew's biography understood that he was telling the truth.

"Exactly!" Brian exclaimed in front of the television. "That bastard Lee is slandering him!"

Spike glanced at the chattering section of the audience, noticed looks of approval for Matthew on some faces, and mentally cursed the bunch of idiots in the room before continuing, "When I talk about 'discrimination,' I'm talking about black people!"

He tore his eyes away from the crowd, fixed his stare on Matthew, and delivered his rehearsed lines. "It's a fact that you teamed up with Keira Knightley to pressure the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' crew into replacing Naomie Harris with Eva Green, isn't it? It's true that you supported the white actress Alexandra Daddario, who pushed out Paula Patton to get a supporting role in 'I Am Legend,' right? And I didn't just invent the fact that Francis Lawrence, who supported the idea of black characters, lost his directing job on 'I Am Legend' because of you, did I?"

Hearing the accusations framed that way, Matthew fell silent.

At this point in the conversation, there was no sense in arguing. It was time to bring out the heavy artillery.