Wesley Snipes denies claims that he tried to strangle Blade director: ‘People are disposed to believing the black guy is always the problem’
‘If I had tried to strangle David Goyer, you probably wouldn’t be talking to me now,' said the actor
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Your support makes all the difference.Wesley Snipes has denied allegations that he once tried to strangle the Blade: Trinity director.
In 2012, Snipes’s former co-star Patton Oswalt claimed the actor had “tried to strangle” director David S Goyer on the set of the 2004 film.
In an interview with The Guardian, Snipes denied the accusations, stating that the incident “never happened”.
He told the publication: “Let me tell you one thing, if I had tried to strangle David Goyer, you probably wouldn’t be talking to me now. A black guy with muscles strangling the director of a movie is going to jail, I guarantee you.”
In the same 2012 interview, Oswalt also called Snipes's behaviour on set “f***ing crazy in a hilarious way”.
The comedian said that Snipes and Goyer would communicate via Post-it notes throughout filming and that the actor would “sign each Post-it note ‘From Blade’”.
Snipes addressed Oswalt’s wider comments, stating: “This is part of the challenges that we as African Americans face here in America – these microaggressions. The presumption that one white guy can make a statement and that statement stands as true.”
The 58-year-old continued: “Why would people believe his version is true? Because they are disposed to believing the black guy is always the problem.”
“And all it takes is one person, Mr Oswalt, who I really don’t know,” said Snipes. “I can barely remember him on the set, but it’s fascinating that his statement alone was enough to make people go: ‘Yeah, you know Snipes has got a problem.’”
The actor, who next stars in the Eddie Murphy Sequel Coming 2 America, added: “I remind you that I was one of the executive producers of the project [...] I was not just the actor for hire. I had authority to say, to dictate, to decide. This was a hard concept for a lot of people to wrap their heads around.”
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Snipes – who was jailed for failing to file his taxes – also spoke about his three-year prison sentence. He told the publication that he “came out a clearer person” when he was released in 2013.
He also claimed that Donald Trump avoided paying taxes because of “who he knows”.