Actor and comedian Marlon Wayans is known for his work in the Scary Movie franchise, but his most divisive and popular movie, White Chicks, is reportedly rising in streaming more than two decades after its release. According to Flix Patrol, White Chicks bagged the seventh spot in the top streamer list this week on HBO. The most popular movie of the week still remained Superman.
The film follows two FBI agent brothers named Marcus and Kevin, who are tasked with going undercover as women for a case. The controversial aspect of the movie was that the two Black cops applied whiteface to go undercover as two White women. While the film received negative reviews, it earned $113 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo).
Marlon Wayans Criticized the Generation That Could Get Him Canceled for White Chicks
The legacy of White Chicks is more than its Razzie nominations and Terry Crews singing A Thousand Miles in a car. The film was not received well, even when it was released back in 2004, with the movie scoring 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the core concept of the movie and the whiteface would have drawn a lot more controversy today.
The film follows two Black FBI agents who pose as White women to protect a group of socialites from being kidnapped. A lot of jokes are made at the expense of this, which may come across as racist, sexist, misogynistic, and more. However, Marlon Wayans, who co-wrote and co-starred in the movie, begged to differ.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, the actor defended the movie when asked if it would have been a hit if released in the present cultural climate or if it would have been canceled.
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I don’t know what planet we’re on, where you think people don’t need laughter, and that people need to be censored and canceled. If a joke is gonna get me canceled, thank you for doing me that favor. It’s sad that society is in this place where we can’t laugh anymore. I ain’t listening to this damn generation.
The actor mentioned that he would do his kind of jokes anyway, and if some executives or collaborators wanted to be in for the ride, they were welcome.
What Does Wayans’ Defence of White Chicks Mean for an Era That Canceled Jimmy Kimmel
Marlon Wayans defended his movie White Chicks, which, if not racist, is at least a bit in bad taste. But the Scary Movie star’s statements ring true, especially after what the comedy scene has been going through lately. The recent suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after comments made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk brought up conversations about freedom of speech.
Kimmel was reinstated on Tuesday and has since doubled down on his criticism of President Donald Trump and FCC chairman Brendan Carr, both of whom reportedly celebrated the suspension. In his opening monologue following his return, Kimmel apologized for his comments but stressed how a show as “unimportant” as his should still be allowed to exist in a free country.
This echoes Marlon Wayans’ statement about comedy and cancel culture that he made about White Chicks. The buddy cop movie is by no means good, and its multiple Razzie nominations prove how poor the jokes were. But as Wayans said, getting canceled for a joke is not a precedent that should be set.
What do you think about Marlon Wayans’ White Chicks? Comment below.
White Chicks is available to stream on Netflix.
