Spike Lee Apologized For Defending Woody Allen: ‘My Words Were Wrong’

Spike Lee has abruptly apologized for defending Woody Allen during a radio interview while promoting Da 5 Bloods, his latest Netflix project that hit the streaming service this weekend. While promoting the film, Lee appeared on a New York City radio station and called the director a friend and a “great, great filmmaker” he apparently felt is getting treated unfairly by those who want to “cancel” him.

[via The Guardian]

“This cancel thing is not just Woody,” he said. “And I think that when we look back on it, [we’re] gonna see that, short of killing somebody, I don’t if you can just erase somebody like they never existed.

“Woody’s a friend of mine. I know he’s going through it right now.”

Lee was speaking in reference to the allegations of sexual abuse of a minor in his own family. The allegations, and some in Hollywood continuing to work with him and appreciate his films despite the seriousness of the allegations, has been a controversial subject that in recent years has resurfaced in light of the Me Too movement and other societal upheaval.

Lee’s initial comments seemed to put distance between allegations against Allen and other wrongdoings, such as police brutality and issues that have sparked massive protests in recent weeks. But later Saturday, Lee tweeted an apology without context, saying his “words were wrong” and acknowledging the “real damage that can’t be minimized” caused by sexual assault and violence.

— Spike Lee (@SpikeLeeJoint) June 13, 2020

Though the apology did not reference Allen, it seems clear given the “damage” he’s referencing that it was walking back his comments about Allen.