Movie director Spike Lee ripped on Black Entertainment Television during a
visit to Bermuda.
"I was told BET was big here and I shook my head," said Lee, the director of
Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing, according to AP.
"If you get everything from BET, you are getting the wrong thing," Lee
added.
Lee criticized BET, noting that black films on the network were often dumbed
down or pigeonholed into comedies or gangster movies.
BET representatives defended the network Friday. "This is not the first time
Spike has criticized BET, and it's unfortunate that he does not watch enough of
the network to really make an educated judgment," spokesman Michael Lewellen
said.
"We even wonder if he's aware that one of his more critically acclaimed
works, Malcolm X, actually gets its premiere on BET in February as part
of Black History Month," he added.
