Actor Marlon Wayans, who co-created and starred in the cult classic 2004 comedy White Chicks, has defended the movie from criticism that he attributes to cancel culture. The audacious film followed two brothers in the FBI, played by real-life siblings Marlon and Shawn Wayans, who work undercover on an abduction case by disguising themselves in blonde wigs and extensive makeup to pose as two wealthy and vain white sisters, Brittany and Tiffany Wilson. White Chicks was a family-wide collaboration as the two lead actors also co-wrote the script along with their brother Keenen Ivory Wayans, who served as the film’s director.
The commercial success of the film posed a stark contrast to its critical reception. While White Chicks proved to be a box-office success, taking the second spot in its opening weekend and grossing $113 million against a budget of $37 million, critics slammed the movie for relying on shallow stereotypes and immature jokes. The film remains polarizing to this day, with viewers split on whether it is wildly problematic or a stroke of comedic brilliance.
Eighteen years after the film’s release, Marlon Wayans weighs in on the controversy surrounding his film White Chicks, defending the comedic integrity of the film from cancel culture. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Wayans remains confident that the film should not be taken more seriously than as a light-hearted source of joy for viewers. Check out what he had to say about comedies like White Chicks below:
I think they’re needed. 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. I ain’t listening to these folks: These scared-ass people, these scared executives. Y’all do what you want to do? Great. I’m still gonna tell my jokes the way I tell them. And if you want to make some money, jump on board. And if not, then I’ll find a way to do it myself. I know my audience. My audience comes to my shows every weekend and they leave feeling great and laughing. One thing about the Wayans, we’ve always told the worst joke the best way.
Would White Chicks Be Made Today?
Wayans’ comments indicate that the criticism the film has drawn is due to a recent shift towards greater public scrutiny of art and media, a phenomenon many have described as “cancel culture.” While it is true that White Chicks likely would not be greenlit as quickly today, the film’s commentary on white womanhood is still relevant. One need not look further than the popular “Karen” meme that has emerged within the last few years as a representation of white women who exploit their privilege while simultaneously posing as victims to see that commentary on race and gender taking the form of comedy has remained prevalent nearly two decades after the release of White Chicks.
In fact, Wayans recently revealed that the inspiration behind the central women in White Chicks were sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton, asserting that the film had a larger point to make about wealthy white women. However, it has since become increasingly clear that even socialites like the Hiltons present as satirized versions of themselves, leading them to be perceived differently than they really are. In recent years Paris Hilton herself has publicly expressed deeper aspects of her personal life, including detailing abuse she has faced, which shows just how curated and exaggerated the version of herself she presented was around the time White Chicks was made. While the film’s inspection of its subject remains relevant, were the story to be remade in 2022, it would have to balance the criticism it poses by offering realistic depth and inner complexity to the characters it pokes fun of, not to undermine its commentary but to make it even more realistic.
Source: Buzzfeed