Political ad calls Samuel L. Jackson 'the new Uncle Tom'

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

Actor Samuel L. Jackson is threatening to sue after learning about a political campaign ad that calls him “the new Uncle Tom.”

Mother Jones reports Randall Terry, who is running for both president of the United States and for Congress in Florida, and who has made news for years as a controversial pro-life activist, made an ad accusing Jackson of “carrying water for racists,” in response to Jackson’s “Wake the F**k Up!” political ad supporting President Obama.

In the video, which also features graphic photos of aborted fetuses, Terry dresses up as a character named “Sir Reginald Bling” and raps about Jackson’s betrayal to his race by using lines from his movies.

When Obama and Biden work themselves to a fit, they picked up the phone, called 9-1-holy sh*t. Send a man who will Die Hard with a Vengeance for us, and a man who will stay in the back of the bus. You’re darn right we’ll work. No, you just stay calm. Get Samuel L. Jackson to play Uncle Tom.

Terry also set up a website, www.uncletomjackson.com. The video of the ad has since been removed from the site, but there is still a link for supporters to donate to Terry’s campaign, along with a headline that says, “When you have to have a black man help with black genocide…call Uncle Tom Jackson!”

Jackson is now threatening to sue Terry and the television stations that aired the ad. A letter sent from his lawyers to Terry says the ad claims Jackson associates with organizations who advocate the abortion of black babies and the sterilization of black men and women. The letter calls the statements “false, defamatory and outrageous.”

“The use of Mr. Jackson’s name and image to advocate the highly offensive statements in the Commercial, namely that he supposedly advocates ‘Black genocide,’ and the other outrageous positions discussed above, has caused Mr. Jackson to suffer substantial emotional distress,” the letter also reads.

Terry has said he will “not be bullied or intimidated by Mr. Jackson’s threats,” nor will he “stop running the ad.”

“Shame on Mr. Jackson for trying to silence political dissent,” he added.

Terry’s status as a political candidate allows him to air the ad because the Federal Communications Commission protects speech in political campaign advertisements. As a result, television stations are required to air it.

Terry points this out to Jackson and his lawyers in a recent statement, saying, “The stations are protected by FCC law from any legal action for any political campaign ad that runs on their stations. And I am protected by the first amendment — not to mention the truth.”

This is not the first time Terry has been associated with controversial political ads.

In September, Kentucky congressional candidate Andrew Beacham ran a gruesome ad showing photos of aborted fetuses and dead bodies and calling President Obama “a murderer.” He was one of a group of people, associated with Terry and his pro-life message, running as congressional candidates around the country so they could air shocking ads on television.

Mother Jones reached out to the law firm representing Jackson, and while they were not aware of Terry’s recent press release, they declined to comment any further.

Follow Ugonna on Twitter at @ugonnaokpalaoka