Ridley Scott's Explanation For Whitewashing His Exodus Movie Is Infuriating

Ridley Scott's Exodus movie is still racist as shit. And his explanations as to why he chose to make his main characters of the Exodus story set in Egypt White while making the servants and thieves Black didn't make me feel any better, either.

I have no clue if people will actually boycott Exodus: Gods And Kings. The movie might be a hit. It may tank. It may tank because it's just not an appealing movie. It may tank because the #BoycottExodus movement really put a dent in the the film's promotional push. I don't know what will happen. Here's what I do know: I'm more convinced than ever that Ridley Scott doesn't care that he whitewashed his movie.

Here's what he said in a profile for Variety:

Like most high-profile religious pictures since Martin Scorsese's 1988 "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Exodus" became the subject of intense media scrutiny before Scott had ever exposed a frame of (digital) film on stages at London's Pinewood Studios and on location in Spain. Much of the outcry online stemmed from his decision to cast white American, European and Australian actors in most of the key roles, no matter that the same could be said of "The Passion of the Christ," "Noah," "The Ten Commandments" and virtually any other big-budget Bible movies. "I can't mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such," Scott says. "I'm just not going to get it financed. So the question doesn't even come up."

I'm officially angry now.

Scott's response is pompous, flippant and doesn't make an ounce of sense. The idea that Ridley Scott can't get a movie funded off of his name alone is absolutely ridiculous. He's Ridley Scott for White Chrissakes. He could get $100 million off his name even if he cast a broomstick, the Aflac duck and Taylor Kitsch in a remake of Lady And The Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure. But let's take his comments at face value. Maybe it is difficult to get funding for a movie without Hollywood stars even if the director is Ridley Scott. Does he have to make sure those stars are all White? It's not like he doesn't know any stars of color.

The Scott-directed American Gangster starred Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Idris Elba. Gladiator featured Djimon Hounsou. Each of those actors has had box office success.

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