When one thinks of outspoken celebrities in Hollywood, Samuel L Jackson comes to mind. MCU’s Nick Fury has never shied away from speaking his mind. The actor even once threatened to drop out of Snakes on a Plane, if the makers changed the title of the film to anything else.
However, the star generally takes comments about his films in his stride. But once upon a time, he didn’t bother holding back and bashed the guy making those comments. In fact, Jackson even asked his Twitter followers to go after him.
Samuel L Jackson Goes After Critic Of The Avengers
The Avengers (2012) created history at the box office and for Marvel Studios with $1.5 billion global collections. It holds a Rotten Tomatoes critic and audience scores of 91% each. But not everyone loved the film when it was released. The New York Times film critic AO Scott was one of them. He said:
“Scientists estimate that we reached Peak Superhero in the summer of 2008 when The Dark Knight sucked the attention of every critic, pundit, and sentient moviegoer into its inky nexus.”
He even referred to Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury in the film as “more master of ceremonies than mission commander.” It’s not certain if it was this particular phrase that irked Jackson, but he took to Twitter and said: “#Avengers fans, NY Times critic AO Scott needs a new job! Let’s help him find one! One he can ACTUALLY do!”
Here’s the tweet:
While a lot of fans did respond to his call, many were also quite hesitant to do so because as per them no film should be above criticism, no matter how popular it is.
Fans Push Back Against Samuel L Jackson’s Call To Pile Up On Critic
In the aftermath of Samuel L Jackson’s tweet, one fan said, “The critic has a right to his opinion. Just because the movie has made a ton of money does not mean it is a good movie.” To this Jackson replied, “Actually, sometimes IT DOES.”
Another account, The Film Nest said, “Disappointed to hear @SamuelLJackson respond irrationally to a negative review of #Avengers. People aren’t entitled to their own opinion? :(” The actor replied back saying, “That is My Opinion! & what’s irrational about it? They aren’t going to fire his jaundiced a** and You & I Know It!”
The man at the center of the storm, film critic AO Scott, wasn’t phased by the criticism coming his way and neither was he upset by the Django Unchained actor’s words. He said to E! News:
“I don’t think Mr. Jackson is actually trying to get me fired. Actors and filmmakers sometimes respond angrily to negative reviews—I can’t say I blame them… Rallying ‘fans’ against skeptical critics is a time-honored tactic, and I don’t take it personally… If I’m going to dish out criticism, I should be able to take it.”
The critic was also thankful for the support offered by many because it showed to him that people respected independent and honest criticism. It’s been more than a decade since his back-and-forth took place. Thankfully, it remained a silly piece of internet mockery rather than an inciting incident of any kind.
The Avengers is streaming on Disney+.
Source: NYT Review and Samuel L. Jackson
