Jamie Foxx Went Out of His Way to ‘Protect’ Kerry Washington, Getting Quentin Tarantino to Cut Disturbing ‘Django Unchained’ Scene
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx accepted his starring role in “Django Unchained” when other actors were unsure about the grisly plot.
Quentin Tarantino directed the 2012 film that follows Django, an enslaved man who earns his freedom by helping a bounty hunter track down criminals in the South.
The secondary plot, though, is about Django’s unwavering goal of reconnecting with his wife, Broomhilda, played by actress Kerry Washington.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as infamous plantation owner Calvin Candie and Samuel L. Jackson as Stephenm an elderly house enslaved man.
Tarantino’s pre-Civil War flick reunited Foxx and Washington eight years after their portrayal of husband and wife Ray Charles and Della Bea Robinson in 2004’s “Ray.”
Jamie Foxx Supports Excessive Use of the N-Word In ‘Django Unchained’
Will Smith and Idris Elba passed on offers to play Django.
Both men were apprehensive about taking on a role involving slavery. A controversial scene involving sexual violence was also a factor in the decisions.
Foxx recalled talking to his peers about the script during the Aug. 25 episode of the “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast. The Academy Award winner said he tried to ease Smith and Elba’s uneasiness about “Django Unchained.”
“All the stuff that I know about Quentin, what he put in his script, he don’t shoot that,” Foxx recalled about his explanation to the men.
He told Palmer, “So the movie gon’ be different. And then, of course, some of that stuff you ain’t gon’ be able to do no way. But you gotta be vocal and not be afraid.”
Foxx remained outspoken when he accepted the role, pointing out that a not safe-for-work scene would have lasting implications for Washington.
“If you read the script, Broomhilda and Django get raped. But once we got together —Quentin and I and Kerry — we wanted to protect Kerry Washington,” he shared.
Moreover, the multifaceted entertainer expressed that the graphic scene would have landed on theater screens four months before Washington made history as crisis fixer Olivia Pope on “Scandal” from 2012 to 2018.
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The ABC drama penned by Shonda Rhimes marked the first time a Black woman helmed a network series since Diahann Carroll in “Julia” from 1968 to 1971.
As Foxx put it, safeguarding Washington’s on-screen image was paramount.
“Why? Because movies are forever, meaning if there is some bombastic scene, you can’t take it out,” he shared. “We wanted to make sure we protected Olivia Pope, and at that time, that television show wasn’t out yet, but I said, ‘Hey, she’s going to have this show, and we wanna protect her.’ And he was with it. And so all of that sort of outlandish stuff left.”
Although, Foxx has previously defended the use of the N-word being said more than 100 times in the film. “That’s the way it was back in that time,” he once said during an interview.
The collaborative process of filmmaking seemed far-fetched for one viewer. That person snapped, “The director is the boss. An actor doesn’t ‘have’ him do anything.”
However, on YouTube, a fan gushed, “Loved the Django story!” A second supporter shared, “I fkn loved Django, I couldn’t imagine another Django.”
Washington fondly recalled sharing the screen with Foxx in her 2023 memoir “Thicker Than Water. The best-selling author wrote “Jamie is one of the most wonderful lead actors I have ever had the privilege to work with.
She commended his leadership style, noting that when others praised her guidance on the set of “Scandal,” she “credit Jamie for setting the best possible example.”