Race card from Hollywood
December 15, 2007
Wesley Snipes, who’s charged with eight counts of tax fraud, is playing the race card. The star tells Entertainment Weekly, “It was easy for people to jump on the ‘Wesley’s the bad guy’ bandwagon. That’s where I think the systematic racism comes in. We’re conditioned in this country to believe that if there’s a problem, the black man is the culprit.” As for being in Namibia when federal prosecutors were looking for him, Snipes said, “They positioned it like, ‘He’s irresponsible, dangerous, guilty, this is why he’s in Africa’ . . . All these things, they play into our stereotypes . . . They think I’m an evil dude.” Snipes even blames racism for the failure of his 2004 movie, “Blade: Trinity,” saying, “There are so few guys who do action and do it well. Even fewer who are African-American. Even fewer who have classical-theater training. So a cat like me coming in, I’m bringing all of that to an action movie. Since there are so few people that do this and have that pedigree, people disregard their contribution.”
Snipes’ case is scheduled to go to trial next month in Florida.