Spike Lee Remembers How Critics Claimed ‘Do The Right Thing’ Would Incite Riots While Accepting His TIFF Tribute Award

Over the weekend, iconic director Spike Lee was at the Toronto International Film Festival to accept the Ebert Director Award, which is given out at TIFF’s Tribute Awards. And as you might expect from someone like Lee, who is not prone to biting his tongue, the opportunity to accept an award named after Roger Ebert allowed for the filmmaker to recall a pivotal moment in his career that was greatly affected by the legendary film critic.

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During his acceptance speech (via Variety), Spike Lee reminded folks about how Roger Ebert was one of the few critics to actually support the filmmaker’s breakout movie, “Do the Right Thing.” When other prominent critics disparaged the film and insinuated that Lee’s work might cause civil unrest, the filmmaker said he was happy to see Ebert support his movie. (Obviously, Ebert was on the right side of history in that debate, as “Do the Right Thing” is often thought of as one of the greatest American films of all time.)

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“[Roger Ebert] got behind me when those mother fuckers in the press were saying that ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to incite Black people to riot,” Lee said. “That this film should not be shown in the United States.”

“I know it’s a long time ago, and you should let some grudges go,” Lee said, naming two writers whose comments he felt offended by, David Denby and Primary Colors author Joe Klein, whose articles both appeared in the same issue of New York magazine in June 1989. Lee said, “David Denby and Joe Klein wrote articles … saying: hope to God this film does not open in your neighborhood, that this film, ‘Do the Right Thing,’ will incite black people to tear shit up, take to the streets, like Detroit and Newark.”

Obviously, if you weren’t around to understand the impact that “Do the Right Thing” had on the film industry decades ago, it’s difficult for you even to imagine a time when such a classic film would be so polarizing amongst the very tastemakers that seem to decide which movies are worth watching. Sure, there are instances when critics get something wrong, but there was definitely some added vitriol, for whatever reason, when talking about Spike Lee’s early work. 

Alas, it says a lot when you see Ebert has an award named after him, and Spike Lee is seen as a master in his field throughout his decades-long career.