That Samuel L Jackson quote...

se02orqua5xz9v

Look, let's discuss this rationally.

There is NO evidence that Samuel L Jackson ever told Kate Thornton that her or "the British" claiming Colin Farrell was comparable to slavery.

The alleged quote went along the lines of

Thornton: What was it like working with Colin (Farrell), cos he is just so hot in the U.K. right now?

Jackson: He’s pretty hot in the U.S. too.

Thornton: Yeah, but he is one of our own.

Jackson: Isn’t he from Ireland?

Thornton: Yeah, but we can claim him cos Ireland is beside us.

Jackson: You see that’s your problem right there. You British keep claiming people that don’t belong to you. We had that problem here in America too, it was called slavery.

The life of this 'quote' began when it was shared on the internet circa 2003. It was shared so many times that it came to be taken as gospel. It wasn't the first time this happened with a quote on the internet, and it won't be the last.

A quote from self-help 'guru' Marianne Williamson was attributed to Nelson Mandela.

A quote from Facebook user Jessica Dovey was attributed to Martin Luther King.

Eventually, Samuel L. Jackson was asked about it while appearing on The Late Late Show in Ireland. He laughed at first, then recounted the story, but not before carefully wording his introduction.

"I didn't really know I had said all that until I was reminded of it..."

Of course, if you're appearing on an entertainment show with the highest viewership in Ireland, and someone brings up a story which makes you like like a defender of something Irish people themselves never stop moaning about, what are you going to do?

Admit that you don't remember saying it, but that people attribute to you?

Or recount the story as if it were fully true?

Never, in the 12 years since this supposed quote surfaced on the internet, has anyone EVER produced so much as 30 seconds of footage of the offending interview. But to the hundreds of thousands of people who have shared this quote, no such evidence is needed. It was on the internet, and that's all the evidence needed.

It reminds me of something GK Peatling once said:

"Nationalist... world views share the characteristics of gossip. Negative rumours about other groups are reiterated until seeming to express truths too profound for doubt, while negative facts about one’s own group are suppressed or rationalised."

Until I see footage of Jackson saying the words attribute to him - and I don't believe I ever will - that this quote will remain just as Peatling described it, gossip and negative rumours which are now "too profound for doubt".

FanadMan

Celebs.......who really cares what they say?

One eyed Jack

"The problem with quotes on the Internet, is that you can't always depend on their accuracy"

- Abraham Lincoln

endacl

One eyed Jack wrote: »

"The problem with quotes on the Internet, is that you can't always depend on their accuracy"

- Abraham Lincoln

Pretty sure that was Abraham Simpson?

lazybones32

If Samuel's words aren't quotes from Pulp Fiction, I don't care.

One eyed Jack

endacl wrote: »

Pretty sure that was Abraham Simpson?

Wasn't it Abe Simpson who said -

"I'm sick of these motherfcukin' snakes on this motherfcukin' plane"?


Maybe that was Morgan Freeman...

NachoBusiness

Zahra Wailing Camouflage wrote: »

There is NO evidence that Samuel L Jackson ever told Kate Thornton that her or "the British" claiming Colin Farrell was comparable to slavery.

Letter from the Executive Producer of the TV Special in which the interview was conducted do?

Anyway in answer to your question, similar comments were indeed made on the TV Special ‘SWAT – The Movie’. In the programme Colin is considered a very successful ‘fish out of water’ in LA and the line of questioning was exploring how the Americans view him. Kate was ‘claiming’ Colin as our own in an ‘inclusive’ way. It was meant as a mark of comradeship rather than thievery and being of liberal mind I can assure you Kate has no intention of staking any real claims! It went like this.

KATE THORNTON: Now lets talk about Colin because in the UK he’s become the man of the moment.

SAMUEL L.JACKSON: Really? Only in the UK?

KT: Well everywhere but we kind of claim him as our own because he’s from Ireland.

SLJ: You can’t claim him because he’s from Ireland.

KT: Well we do because it’s close by. (laughter)

SLJ: Ok. That’s the source of all the conflict over there. You people always claiming the Irish as yours. We got a little problem just like that here called slavery but that’s ok we don’t need to talk about that so lets go. (more laughter)

KT: Well Colin is a very well paid slave.

SLJ: Ok good.

KT: As are you.

SLJ: Yeah all right.

KT: What did you know about him before you came to work with him on this project?

SLJ: I knew he was a hot, young, Irish actor who was good looking and I talked to a couple of people about him. I talked to Bruce about him and I talked to some script supervisors that had worked with him on a couple of things and they all loved him.

KT: So you checked him out?

SLJ: Yeah.

The programme was an irreverent promotional vehicle for SWAT and it’s cast and I must say that Colin gave the most honest interview I’ve ever heard on a junket. Long may his attitude prevail. Does this answer your question and win you the bet?

Yours sincerely,

Rufus Roubicek
Executive Producer
matchboxtv.com

se02orqua5xz9v

NachoBusiness wrote: »

Letter from the Executive Producer of the TV Special in which the interview was conducted do?

Something written on a WordPress blog is not evidence.

It takes minutes to create them. All you need is an email.

mikom

Zahra Wailing Camouflage wrote: »

But to the hundreds of thousands of people who have shared this quote, no such evidence is needed.

Zahra Wailing Camouflage wrote: »

Something written on a WordPress blog is not evidence.

Say 'evidence' again.
Say 'evidence' again, I dare you, I double dare you motherfucker, say evidence one more Goddamn time!

endacl

One eyed Jack wrote: »

Wasn't it Abe Simpson who said -

"I'm sick of these motherfcukin' snakes on this motherfcukin' plane"?


Maybe that was Morgan Freeman...

Nope. Captain Morgan that time.

Canis Lupus

WTF is this sh*t?

efb

I'm kinda over Mr Jackson, didn't come across great to me in his last few interviews.

kneemos

Uh huh,we hav em now.

Jotunheim

OP, are you gonna do a thread for every insignificant quote you feel to be a myth or wrongly attributed? That should keep you really busy, best of luck with the project.

tigger123

I'm pretty sure this happened on an interview with Samuel L Jackson on The Big Breakfast on Channel 4, in or around 2000.

GLaDOS

I thought this was about the motherfúcking snakes on the motherfúcking plane.

I thought Laurence Fishburne said it...

fryup

oh no not this again

its been done to death

Duckworth_Luas

First Colin Farrell, now Conor McGregor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtLcELU1brA

Cold War Kid

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought Laurence Fishburne said it...

Loved Sam L. in The Matrix.

endacl

Canis Lupus wrote: »

WTF is this sh*t?

That one was deffo Sam Jackson. Can't remember which movie though. Boyz 'n' the Hood?

darkpagandeath

Is there nothing these days the permanently outraged compare to slavery or Nazis. Should we not just create a new phrase “Nazi Slavery.”

DEFTLEFTHAND

Always assumed it was an urban myth like the Bruce and Bono story.

CINCLANTFLT

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Always assumed it was an urban myth like the Bruce and Bono story.

Go on my son!

rubadub

Zahra Wailing Camouflage wrote: »

It was shared so many times that it came to be taken as gospel.

Yeah, it is taken as gospel, many believe the gospels to be completely fabricated, even those who do believe in them would say it was not word for word as its been transcribed and translated so many times.

Cheers for the video, I always thought that quote was dubious, but now I see him talking about it I do no longer doubt it, seems he did most likely did say something along those lines.

NachoBusiness

Had the following email exchange with Rufus Roubicek earlier this morning.

Make of it what you will.

Hi,

I was reading this article online that includes a letter credited to
Rufus Roubicek:

http://taint.org/2003/12/16/015858a.html

I was wonder first, is that a legitimate letter and two, where could I
watch that TV special, 'SWAT - The Movie' ?

Cheers in advance,

*********

---

Rufus Roubicek <$&#%@matchboxtv.com>
10:58 AM (2 hours ago)

Hello ***********
Yes the letter is authentic and reading it back reminded me of the playful vibe of the recording between interviewer and interviewee.
Please do not read anything more into the exchange other than banter.
Unfortunately the programme is no longer available to view but do enjoy the movie as its good fun.
Thanks for getting in touch.
Best wishes.

Rufus Roubicek
www.matchboxtv.com

Kermit.de.frog

Thought he was great in Bruce Almighty.

nullzero

If the quote doesn't include the term "muthafuka" it simply cannot be true.

MonkeyTennis

I climbed the highest mountain and counted the ****s that were given and it was none

Son Of A Vidic

One eyed Jack wrote: »

"The problem with quotes on the Internet, is that you can't always depend on their accuracy"

- Abraham Lincoln

It wasn't Lincoln who originally said that, it was Aristotle.

Eugene Norman

The only oddness here is that the op has a conspiracy theory where a disgruntled group of extreme Irish nationalists fabricated a quote by Mr Jackson and control the Internet and reality to the extent that Jackson himself and the programme makers think it's true.

I've never thought much about this quote except I've never doubted it because Jackson, to make the quote, just has to know that Irish is not the same as British.

The insane thing here is the OP and his batsh1t conspiracy theories.

NachoBusiness

Eugene Norman wrote: »

The insane thing here is the OP and his batsh1t conspiracy theories.

In fairness to the OP, the interview's existence has always been questioned.

I did ask him was it available to view anywhere and he said no, that Sony own the publication rights.

I linked him to the YouTube Late Late interview, he watched it, emailed me back and said he found it funny and wanted to know the transmission date.

Eugene Norman

NachoBusiness wrote: »

In fairness to the OP, the interview's existence has always been questioned.

I did ask him was it available to view anywhere and he said no, that Sony own the publication rights.

I linked him to the YouTube Late Late interview, he watched it, emailed me back and said he found it funny and wanted to know the transmission date.

Him being the OP? But the OP mentioned the late late show in his post.

Edit.
Oh you mean Rufus. Cool.

longshanks

Is the op trying to say the interview never happened? I could've sword I've seen that interview.

DeVore

Ive seen that interview live... he also confirms it here: https://youtu.be/Wm0GecqUr_o?t=57

Canterelle

Of all the things you could expend energy on, casting doubt on the existence of a fairly light-hearted quote, that if anything is favourable to Irish people, seems so bloody pointless.....