The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 512: The Downfall

Black Africans and Black Americans...

Will Smith was bewildered. It wasn't just Spike Lee; he, and indeed most Black people in this country, felt they were so different that they couldn't be equated, aside from the fact that they were both Black.

No one considered people in Africa to be part of the same ethnic group as them.

It was a very simple truth, and this perception was widespread.

Ask any Black actor in Hollywood, not to mention Spike Lee, and you would get the same answer.

But there are many things one can think but not say out loud.

Will shook his head. He had studied some psychology for his acting career, and it seemed the field had touched upon this very aspect of the situation.

"Jada, from now on, don't have any more contact with Spike." Will couldn't care less about Spike Lee and was ready to cut ties immediately. He had already planned his way out, and he continued in a serious tone, "Don't answer any more questions about this, no matter what the media or any journalists ask."

"We're just dropping Lee?" Jada asked, a little confused.

Will replied instantly, "Let him go to hell. Tomorrow, I'll give an interview to the press and say I had no knowledge of what you said and that I don't condone your words."Jada started to object, but seeing the look in Will's eyes, she quickly nodded. "Alright."

***

Onstage, Matthew was genuinely stunned by Spike's words. He was floored by the thought that such a profound and remarkable theory existed within Lee's skin-deep doctrine of race.

He just... couldn't find the right adjective to describe it.

The studio audience was also frozen by the statement.

Gilbert subconsciously felt that Spike Lee was right about something—that they really were different from Black Africans—but for the moment, he couldn't quite grasp what those differences were.

"Director Lee, please watch what you're saying!" Oprah warned Spike. "That smacks of discrimination against the entire population of Africa!"

"I..." Spike had seen those fabricated videos and couldn't stop himself from saying what was really on his mind. Realizing he had misspoken, he quickly changed the subject, pointing at Matthew again.

"Even so, can you deny that you helped Eva Green steal the role from Naomie? You clearly discriminate against them on set!"

He didn't mention the others because, as far as he knew, the story with Naomie Harris was the closest to the truth and the most credible.

Unlike the claims about Paula Patton and Francis Lawrence, which he had exaggerated.

It was a very bad day, and Spike Lee was hoping to finally save a little face. As long as there was even a hint of racism attached to Horner, he wouldn't lose everything. He could retreat, lie low for a while, and wait for people to forget.

"Didn't Ms. Naomie Harris tell you?" Matthew asked thoughtfully.

Spike immediately shouted, "Don't try to change the subject!"

A chorus of jeers instantly erupted from the audience. Even Oprah thought it was a foolish move, recognizing that he was the one changing the subject.

Matthew shook his head and pulled another flash drive from his pocket.

Having seen what the last flash drive contained, Spike immediately had a bad feeling. He asked subconsciously, "What's that? More of your staged videos?"

Matthew didn't answer him. Oprah immediately called over a staffer, who, looking particularly excited, practically ran up, snatched the flash drive from Matthew's hand, and hurried backstage.

Less than half a minute later, a new video appeared on the large screen.

"I don't have any proof, but I... Naomie, a woman of color, and as soon as I tell the media, you'll be dragged into a negative scandal involving racism. And considering how Hollywood reacts to things like that..."

The video was clearly shot with a hidden camera. The audio wasn't perfectly clear, but it was sharp enough for the live television audience to hear.

It was a woman standing in front of Matthew, threatening him...

"Help me get the role, or I'll call you a racist."

That final statement left everyone stunned.

Spike himself was instantly dumbfounded. Naomie Harris had never told him or James Jackson anything about having had such a conversation with Horner.

Backstage, James realized the situation had spiraled completely out of control.

He had contacted Naomie directly after hearing about the situation from Jada Smith. He learned the secret about the "Pirates of the Caribbean" casting from the actress, who had been dropped by her agency. Spike had paid her a handsome sum of money and promised to boost her career in exchange for the story.

She hadn't told the truth at all... no, she hadn't told the whole story.

But then again, if she had, she wouldn't have made that money, would she?

James suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his phone and called Naomie's number, but it was turned off. Then he called her landlord. This time, someone answered, but the landlord told him that Naomie had moved out the day before yesterday, supposedly to leave Los Angeles...

"That bitch!" Naomie, whom they had considered a fool, had swindled a small fortune out of Spike and vanished!

And not far from him, Helen was laughing—a rare sound for her. They had won a crushing victory!

But no one knew how much work they had done, how much effort they had expended, to achieve this victory today.

***

"Liar!"

"Bastard!"

"Go to hell, Spike!"

Although the chaotic tirade from the audience couldn't reach the viewers at home due to the sound mixing, it certainly reached Spike Lee's ears.

He scanned the audience, which included many Black people, and saw them all shouting at him.

Then he turned his head toward Matthew, who was sitting just as composedly as when he had walked in, as if he didn't even consider Spike an enemy.

How could this be? Spike still couldn't understand.

'I'm Black! These people are racists! Why isn't anyone stopping their criminal behavior?'

Backstage, James tried to rush onto the stage to interrupt the broadcast and drag Spike away, but just like before, he was immediately surrounded by several security guards from the production company.

Just then, his phone rang. Assuming it was Naomie, he answered without even looking at the screen.

The caller was Spike's lawyer, and he had very bad news.

***

"Leave Matthew alone, you liar!"

Oprah opened her mouth to stop the tirade, but then a thought struck her: the DVDs released later would sell much better if this was included. She closed her mouth again, letting the audience hurl their insults.

All these curses reached Gilbert's ears, but the young Black man didn't say a word. He just rummaged in his bag, searching for a few eggs.

These were eggs his grandmother had forgotten in the attic and left there for several years.

Gilbert kept his eyes on Spike, reading the hatred and resentment in the director's gaze as he stared at Matthew.

For such a piece of trash, such a rotten person, what right did he have to slander Matthew?

Twirling a rotten egg in his hand, Gilbert finally got his chance. Several crew members near him helped a cameraman move a camera on a slider to another position, leaving the way clear.

From where he stood, there was now no obstacle, just a clear path to the stage.

Without a second thought, Gilbert did what he had wanted to do from the beginning. He stepped into the aisle, and to the astonished gasps of the crowd, hurled the rotten egg at his target.

As a pitcher for his community baseball team, he had an excellent arm when it came to throwing.

After throwing the first egg, before anyone could react, he hurled the second.

Two rotten eggs hit Spike squarely in the forehead, one after the other. Spike felt a wave of dizziness from the sticky impact, and a uniquely horrific stench assaulted his nostrils, so foul it nearly made him choke and pass out.

Then, a large amount of something vile trickled down his forehead, blurring his vision.

Spike immediately pointed in the direction the egg had come from, gesturing at Gilbert, whose face was even darker than his own, and screamed, "Who did that?! You damn racist!"