Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Blasts Quentin Tarantino Over 'Racist' Portrayal Of Bruce Lee In Movie

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar expressed disappointment over how Quentin Tarantino chose to portray his late friend Bruce Lee in his latest movie.

It all started with the way the great Bruce Lee was portrayed in Tarantino’s latest hit “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.” As a friend of Lee’s, Abdul-Jabbar did not appreciate how the famous director apparently chose how the legendary mixed martial artist would be recalled in the said movie, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

According to Abdul-Jabbar, who shared a lengthy statement about the issue. Lee’s scenes in the movie were so “disappointing” as they lack factual basis.

“That’s what makes the Bruce Lee scenes so disappointing, not so much on a factual basis, but as a lapse of cultural awareness,” Abdul-Jabbar exclaimed.

The NBA legend added that as a world-famous director, he expected Tarantino to be a lot more knowledgeable and responsible in working on such a sensitive matter. For Abdul-Jabbar, what Tarantino did was sloppy and “somewhat racist.”

“Tarantino has the artistic right to portray Bruce any way he wants. But to do so in such a sloppy and somewhat racist way is a failure both as an artist and as a human being. That’s why it disturbs me that Tarantino chose to portray Bruce in such a one-dimensional way,” Abdul-Jabbar added.

Abdul-Jabbar even criticized the way Brad Pitt’s character acted in the movie. The NBA icon stated that a specific scene in the movie goes completely the opposite way of Lee’s perspective towards “stereotyping.”

“The John Wayne machismo attitude of Cliff (Brad Pitt), an aging stuntman who defeats the arrogant, uppity Chinese guy harks back to the very stereotypes Bruce was trying to dismantle,” he wrote.

Abdul-Jabbar also revealed that Lee was frustrated with how Asians are being viewed in films and TV.

“During our years of friendship, he spoke passionately about how frustrated he was with the stereotypical representation of Asians in film and TV ,” he explained.

Once again, Abdul-Jabbar emphasized that Tarantino is very talented filmmaker to make such a sloppy mistake.

“This controversy has left me torn. Tarantino is one of my favorite filmmakers because he is so bold, uncompromising and unpredictable. There’s a giddy energy in his movies of someone who loves movies and wants you to love them, too ,” Abdul-Jabbar stated.

Back in NBA, Abdul-Jabbar recently commented on the current Lakers team. In his detailed assessment, he truly believes that next season will be huge for LeBron James as he already has the right pieces to contend for the NBA title.