Samuel L. Jackson on the MAGA crowd: ‘I know how many motherf–ers hate me’

Once a year, or maybe once every two years, Samuel L. Jackson will sit down for a lengthy magazine profile. Those annual events are always some of my favorite moments of the year – Sam is immensely readable, meaning he is the kind of gifted orator who knows the value of a pithy quote, yet he can also ramble on in profound multi-page diatribes. Esquire profiled Sam early one morning after he and a group of buddies went golfing at, like, dawn. Apparently, Sam just sat in the golf club, dropping f-bombs and n-words while white folks looked sheepish. The whole piece is absolutely worth your time – go here to read it. Some highlights:

His childhood dream: “We looked at movies and went home and redid the movies. We pretended to be whatever we had seen that day. But I wanted to be a marine biologist. I wanted to be the black Jacques Cousteau, because I loved 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.. And I loved all those pirate movies. I wanted to be on a boat out in the ocean. I always thought the inner space was a lot more interesting than outer space.

Whether he ever feels angry about segregation: “I don’t think I was ever angry about it. I’m angrier now about it than I was then just because I see these guys and I know these are the same guys: Trump and all those a–holes, Mitch McConnell. But they’re the same f–king guys. And when I hear their voices, I hear the same voices…There was no doubt about where they stood, that you were never going to be their equal and, if possible, they were going to make sure you never had as much s–t as they had. And they were worried about the chasteness of their women, and miscegenation, and not having enough of them, there being more of us than there are of them.

On doing seven movies a year: “I’ve never understood that whole “I want to do two movies a year” thing. It’s like, you don’t love the job? I want to get up and act every day. And there’s a limited number of acting possibilities in everybody’s lifetime. So I’m trying to maximize my sh-t.

Whether he was concerned about making “quality movies”: “What’s a quality movie? What the f–k is that? Quality movies are movies that make me happy, a movie I would’ve gone to see. I’m not trying to make people cry. I’m not trying to do the profound-storytelling thing. I was entertaining. I used to go to movies to forget my f–king troubles. I used to go to movies to enjoy myself, to get out of my segregated f–king life, to see what the world was like, to travel. I want people to come, smile, laugh, leave that movie going, “Man, that was awesome.”

Whether he’s still the same radical guy he was in the ‘60s: “I’m the same cat. I still got my politics. I still have my anger. But I can’t regulate a bank. I can’t deregulate a bank. I can’t do any of that. It’s been a great revenue stream right now. And because I have that revenue, we’re able to have our names on the f–king wall of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We’re able to give money to the Children’s Defense Fund. We’re able to dig a well in Africa. But I don’t run around with a film crew and say, “Show everybody what I’m doing.” I just do what I do. It’s not like we’re just building up a stack of cash somewhere for whatever’s going to happen.”

On dissing Donald Trump on Twitter: “This motherf–ker is like ruining the planet and all kinds of other crazy sh-t. And the people think that’s okay. It’s not f–king okay. And if you’re not saying anything, then you’re complicit. And I wouldn’t give a f–k if I was a garbageman and I had a Twitter account; I’d tweet that sh-t out. I’m not thinking about who I am and what my job is when I do that sh-t.

Whether he cares about antagonizing the MAGA crowd: “I know how many motherf–kers hate me. “I’m never going to see a Sam Jackson movie again.” F–ck I care? If you never went to another movie I did in my life, I’m not going to lose any money. I already cashed that check. F–k you. Burn up my videotapes. I don’t give a f–k. “You’re an actor. Stick to acting.” “No, motherf–ker. I’m a human being that feels a certain way.” And some of this sh-t does affect me, because if we don’t have health care, sh-t, and my relatives get sick, they’re going to call my rich ass. I want them to have health care. I want them to be able to take care of themselves. This is how I feel.

When he’ll quit acting: “Till I can’t do it. Michael Caine’s still acting, right? It’s acting. It’s not like I’m digging a ditch. I go on set, do some sh-t. I go back and sit in my trailer for two hours watching TV, eat a sandwich, read. And I go back and do ten more minutes and go sit down some more. So, yeah, it’s a great job.

[From Esquire]

I don’t have any tattoos, but I’d love to get this one etched on my body: “I know how many motherf–kers hate me. “I’m never going to see a Sam Jackson movie again.” F–ck I care?” There’s tons of other stuff in there, like Sam defending Quentin Tarantino’s use (overuse) of the n-word (again) in his scripts, and how pissed off he is about all of the people who hated Barack Obama, and so much stuff about his college years and growing up in the segregated South. It’s a great piece and Sam is a national treasure.

Photos courtesy of Esquire’s Instagram.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

35 Responses to “Samuel L. Jackson on the MAGA crowd: ‘I know how many motherf–ers hate me’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Valiantly Varnished says:

    I read the entire piece earlier this week. It’s such a great interview. And I learned things that I didn’t know about him. Like how he does Pilates to stay in shape!

    And I love what he says about not caring if people hate me. He already got paid. You’re not hurting his bag by hating him.

    The only tbing I disagree with him entirely about is Quentin. But I chock that up to him being friends with Quentin. And people often have major blindspots when it comes to their friends.

  2. val says:

    This made my morning. Every single word of it. Goodness, I love this man!

  3. Eden75 says:

    His comments about quality movies. Absolutely.

    I love movies of all kinds but I see them to be entertained, to lose myself in something else for 2 hours. If it’s a film I’m watching to learn something, ok, fine, but the majority of the time, I’m just looking to have fun. He’s right as well in the fact that he loves his job and he wants to do it every day. This is what all of us strive for, to do the job we love. I understand wanting to be proud of your work. He is by the sounds of it, whether it was one that made you cry or one that made billions of dollars and was just awesome eye candy. If you aren’t going to be proud of it, don’t do it but that doesn’t mean your whole CV has to be ‘meaningful’ films.

    The rest of his comments have me intrigued. I’m going to wonder of to read the whole article now.

    What I would not give to sit with this guy for a few beers and a good chat.

    • Kate says:

      Ditto Eden 75. This amazing man is one of my favorites…. so cool I can hardly stand it, and as you stated so well…..”What I would not give to sit with this guy for a good chat and my favorite Dirty Martini! He soothes my soul.”

      Love his attitude, his acting, his sharp wit, and most especially his “frankly I don’t give a damn attitude” re trump.

  4. TaniaOG says:

    OH. MY. GOSH. I literally howled laughing about his comment about healthcare. Lol. This man is a GEM. Just when I thought I couldn’t love him anymore than I already do. Love love love. I will support anything he does.

    • Mgsota says:

      Yes. I loved what he said about “quality movies” and acting not being that hard of a job. And the healthcare thing. He says what he wants and says it how he wants and I love everything.

  5. AG-UK says:

    Love him.

  6. Lightpurple says:

    I love this man. He truly is a national treasure. His Instagram account is delightful. He takes great joy in the work he gets to do, the people he gets to work with and the places he gets to go. His selfies in front of famous, historical or beautiful places are hilarious. There’s the site and then somewhere, there’s part of SLJ. Sometimes it’s his whole face, sometimes just his hat, sometimes just his ear.

  7. Kate says:

    I read all those excerpts in his voice

  8. Zachymom says:

    I absolutely live him!

  9. minx says:

    Love him!

  10. BlueSky says:

    He’s right about being complicit if you don’t speak up. I can understand how triggering it is to hear Orange terror and MMc speak because it’s the same hate speech he heard growing up.
    It boggles my mind when I hear the “stick to acting” or “shut up and dribble” but these same losers are fine with other celebrities speaking up when their views line up with theirs.
    I love SLJ because he’s at that age where he gives zero f@cks.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      truthfully, I think he always gave zero f*cks. 😉

    • Fluffy Princess says:

      I hate that too–the whole “stick to acting/singing/entertainment” BS. Sorry snowflakes, but Sam Jackson is a tax paying American citizen LIKE YOU ARE. So he has a right to express his opinions JUST LIKE YOU DO. I bet the very same people who say the whole, “stick to xyz” would be wholly offended if someone said to them: “You know what John? Stick to accounting, no one gives a shit about your opinion. Go crunch some numbers and GTFO.”

      Sam Jackson is amazing, and like most people, I hear his voice when I read his interviews. I also like when he said, he didn’t care because he already cashed that check! You damn right! Hahaha, suck it losers, he already has your money! Good for him.

  11. Lady Keller says:

    The way I see it if they hate you then clearly you’re doing something right. I like his comment about being a human being being and being affected by this sh*t. He has every right to speak up. He sounds like he sees things very clearly. This man is very intelligent and perceptive.

  12. whatWHAT? says:

    I LOVE THIS MAN. TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY.

    he does EVERY role so well. he says he loves to act, and MAN does it show in his work.

  13. Lucy says:

    I love this guy. He was fantastic in Captain Marvel. Shocking, I know.

    • Lady D says:

      He’s an excellent actor, why do you think it’s shocking he was so great in Capt. Marvel?

      • Lucy says:

        …it was just a joke.

      • Lady D says:

        Apologies, Lucy. I’m usually able to pick up on sarcasm. I haven’t seen the movie yet, and thought his part sucked in it, which worried me because I’m a huge fan.

      • Lucy says:

        It’s all good, Lady D. If you plan on seeing the movie at some point, trust me! He’s one of the best parts of it. He gets to be very funny in it, which isn’t really the case in most Marvel movies he’s in.

    • Mia says:

      @Lucy Fury and Goose had me laughing.

      • Lucy says:

        IKR. And that kitty is simply adorable. You know, when he’s not, um, displaying his abilities.

  14. asdfa says:

    I love him, for so many reasons.

  15. Onemoretime says:

    Yes this man is a Nationa Treasure indeed. I love that he tells it like it is! Not very one is going to like you or your work no matter what you do. May as well live your truths. I love that he & his wife have been married going on 40 years. He’s so laid back and in your face he maintains a perfect balance. I also hate when people tell entertainers or athletes to stick to whatever it is they are doing. Like they don’t pay taxes like everyone else. You pay your taxes and vote, you have every right to voice you displeasure in your politians.

  16. FHMom says:

    I love him and he is good in everything he does.

  17. delorb says:

    What people need to remember is what MAGA stands for. “Make America Great Again” like somehow a black president defiled it. Like somehow it was ever great for everyone in the past. And most importantly it’s code words aimed directly at black and brown people that harkens back to the good old days of legalized segregation and terrorism, racism and, bigotry. Love this man for speaking his truth. And for reminding people that the sins of the past weren’t that long ago. (yeah I know they’ve never stopped. that was aimed at those people who ask black and brown people to stop talking about something that ended a long time ago).

  18. Kath says:

    Correction: Samuel L Jackson is an INTERNATIONAL treasure!

  19. Originaluna says:

    Best quotes I’ve read in a celebrity interview EVER:

    “I know how many motherf–kers hate me. “I’m never going to see a Sam Jackson movie again.” F–ck I care? If you never went to another movie I did in my life, I’m not going to lose any money. I already cashed that check. F–k you. Burn up my videotapes. I don’t give a f–k.”

    Burn my videotapes has me in tears. And:

    “because if we don’t have health care, sh-t, and my relatives get sick, they’re going to call my rich ass.”
    MIC DROP

    And THIS is being really f–ing honest yessss. Love it!

  20. Sue Denim says:

    The pic of him in blue is like a painting, magnificent and timeless too.

  21. Jaded says:

    Samuel L. Jackson for President.

  22. Cocochanel says:

    Hahaha, he’s awesome. He was great in Captain Marvel. He can summon that to-others-elusive chemistry with any actor. Should have cast SLJ instead of Will Smith as an expletive-addicted genie.