Everyone is fuming over "racist" new movie Loqueesha
14 May 2019, 11:46
"This is gross. Black girls are magic but we get to control who uses it."
A new movie called Loqueesha is being called out for being racist after the trailer was released on Friday (May 10).
This is why blackface for Halloween is racist
The film, which is due for release on July 12, is directed by American comedian Jeremy Saville, who also plays the lead character Joe. Loqueesha is about a white male DJ who pretends to be a black woman to get an agony aunt radio job and, yeah, it's pretty problematic.
In the trailer, Joe is seen giving people advice at a bar and he's complimented on how good he is. A black woman then suggests he should apply for a radio job solving callers' dilemmas, which encourages women from an ethnic minority background to apply.
Joe applies but is soon rejected and after he gets a bill for his son's fancy new private school, he is struggling for the money to pay it. So, after seeing a video of two black women arguing on a TV show (serious eye roll…) Joe decides the solution is not to look for another job but to apply for the same role but this time as a black woman.
After landing the position, the radio show is a huge success after he puts on a "ghetto" voice. "I think I might be a black woman stuck in a white man's body," he says. I-…
The cover art for the movie isn't much better either. It features Joe breaking out of a black woman's body with a microphone in front of him. Hmm.
Understandably, the movie has been called out by A LOT of people.
So there’s a movie coming out called #Loqueesha and it’s about...
— TASK the Ol’ Nerdy Bastard (@UpToTASK) May 10, 2019
*checks notes*
...a white male radio DJ pretending to be a...
*checks notes again*
...black woman to get ratings and pay for his son to go to a prep school.
*reads again*
Wait this was made? In 2019? pic.twitter.com/7mBERNexFd
So. I just found out about #Loqueesha. A white man pretending to be a Black woman—what he deems as what Black, “ghetto” “hood” women sound like.
— TEE FRANKLIN (@MizTeeFranklin) May 11, 2019
Time & again it shows how Black women are neglected, disrespected, and don’t matter.
Hollywood turns BW books/scripts to make this 💩
Me showing up to a #Loqueesha screening pic.twitter.com/CSFIIkjVx5
— Olivia Pope Francis (@secofreal) May 11, 2019
The IMDb trivia for #Loqueesha is fucking great. What a tone deaf turd of a movie. pic.twitter.com/x2IP9U14pH
— Rob Cleaver (@bobbycleav) May 10, 2019
*Watches trailer for #Loqueesha* pic.twitter.com/WPY2DZaPho
— Black WWE Champion Excellence (@cjwizgeek) May 10, 2019
Sassy, black woman is typically fat and dark skin. That's done on purpose. How many sassy, black women characters can you name that are light skin? #Loqueesha
— Rosa Sparks @daintythug podcast (@MzYummyDread) May 10, 2019
[watches the #Loqueesha trailer] pic.twitter.com/llCdFZAJ1s
— Brandon Stroud (@MrBrandonStroud) May 11, 2019
That #Loqueesha trailer is possibly the most racist thing I’ve ever seen.
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) May 12, 2019
And I grew up in Mississippi, SO THE BAR IS NOT LOW.
Just watched the trailer. Not impressed. Not all black women are loud and ghetto. To the black people who were involved in this tragedy of a movie, congratulations you are a sellout #Loqueesha pic.twitter.com/OJXjgpMV0g
— maliakalia ♡ (@prancingtaco) May 11, 2019
This is gross. Black girls are magic but we get to control who uses it. How dare you use our empathy and wisdom as a joke while implying that we are handed opportunities that should belong to sad white dads who just want to pay for prep school.
— Leslie Streeter (@LeslieStreeter) May 11, 2019
Re: Loqueesha.
— Mrs. Aegon Targaryen (@biafradenmark) May 11, 2019
1. This is a The Producers level scam.
2. It was clearly made to get a rise out of folks.
3. Don't give them the satisfaction.#Loqueesha
Saville kind of responded to the backlash by comparing his flick to the 2004 movie White Chicks. In the movie, two undercover FBI agents pose as a pair of privileged white heiresses to protect them from potential kidnappers.
He even posted a photo with actor Marlon Wayans, who starred in the film with his brother Shawn Wayans. However, Marlon has since seemingly spoken out about the image.
I hate when people tag me in their bullshit. It’s annoying as fuck.
— marlon wayans (@MarlonWayans) May 12, 2019
Meanwhile, comedian Dwayne Perkins, who plays Mason, has also addressed the criticism surrounding the movie on Instagram from his perspective as a black man.
He said: "If anyone was offended I am very sorry but I wasn't trying to make any of this a mockery. In fact, I don't think the trailer does the movie any justice. I don't think any of the black people that worked on it thought we were making a mockery. I think, at least for myself, we're well versed in our history and our plight and all of that. This is a comedy, it's a story about one guy who does the wrong thing for the right reasons and ultimately he pays the price. And I think the movie gets into it more than the trailer does.
"If you don't want to see the movie I respect that but you kind of have to withhold judgement until you see the movie. Again, making a mockery just wasn't my intention."
