Marlon Wayans on Whether ‘White Chicks’ Could Succeed Today
Written by SOURCE on October 25, 2022
Marlon Wayans aired out his frustrations with so-called cancel culture after being asked in an interview with BuzzFeed if comedies like 2004’s White Chicks can “thrive” in 2022.
“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,” Wayans said. “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.”
The 50-year-old continued, “I ain’t listening to this damn generation. I ain’t listening to these folks: these scared-ass people, these scared executives.”
Wayans appeared on GQ’s “Iconic Characters” series earlier this year and said that whenever someone asks him to do a White Chicks 2, he turns them down solely because the seven-hour makeup effects process “almost killed” him and his brother Shawn.
“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,” Wayans added in his BuzzFeed conversation. “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.”
Marlon spoke with Entertainment Weekly two years ago for an oral history on how White Chicks became a cult classic, claiming the film’s success is rooted in the Wayans’ ability to be “equal-opportunity offenders.”
“You know who loves White Chicks the most? White chicks. That’s how you know it’s a good movie,” Wayans explained 2020. “A good joke in comedy is when the people you make fun of laugh the loudest. And what’s beautiful is that we’re equal-opportunity offenders. It was a great exploration of gender, of race, of pop culture, and done with kid gloves so everybody could laugh. And I think that’s what makes it a cult classic to this day.”
