Spike Leeis not holding back on his thoughts about Sunday’s Best Picture winner.
AfterGreen Bookpicked up the Best Picture trophyduring the final award of the 2019 Academy Awards in which his film was also nominated, Lee was far from thrilled for the true-life drama and immediately let his anger show.
Several outlets, includingDeadlineand theAssociated Press, said that as soon asGreen Bookwas announced, Lee stood up and angrily stormed towards the back of the Kodak Theater.
TheBlacKkKlansmandirector, 61, was then seen “intensely” speaking toJordan Peele.
Later in the evening, after Lee’s biographical crime comedy-dramawon Best Adapted Screenplay, the director spoke to a room of reporters and revealed what was actually going through his mind afterGreen Book‘s win.
“Let me take another sip! [sips champagne] Next question! What did I do?” he sarcastically joked, as he danced in a circle with his glass, before expressing why he felt like the decision was a “bad call.”
Spike Lee.Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S./Getty
“No, I thought it was courtside at the Garden, and the ref made a bad call. Courtside,” thedie-hard New York basketball team fansaid. “The world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Knicks coming back next year.”
When asked if winning Best Adapted Screenplay made up for his loss at the 1990 Oscars — his filmDo the Right Thinglost for Best Picture that year toDriving Miss Daisy— Lee quipped, “Every time somebody is driving somebody, I lose!”
“They changed the seating arrangement! But in ’89 I didn’t get nominated. So, this one we did.”
Reps for Lee did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Be sure to check outPEOPLE’s full Oscars coverageto get the latest news on film’s biggest night.
Spike Lee.David Fisher/BAFTA/Shutterstock
Lee’s outrage over the win comes after months of debate dissension surroundingGreen Book.
Mortensen, 60, used the n-word during the movie’s press tour. Months after heapologized, director Pete Farrelly apologized forhaving exposed himself years agowhile on the set of his 1998 romantic comedyThere’s Something About Mary.
Dr. Shirley’s family also criticized the movie, with his brotherMaurice calling ita “symphony of lies.”
Spike Lee.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Though Lee may not have been happy with at least one category winner during the evening, he couldn’t contain his smile when he became an Oscar winner for the first time.
In his speech, Lee paid tribute to Black History Month and shared some of his family’s own stories of triumphant in the face of oppression.
The iconic director celebrated the sacrifice his grandmother made for him, revealing she “saved 50 years of social security checks” to put him through Morehouse College and NYU graduate film school. (She also affectionately nicknamed him “Spikey-poo.”)
Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson.
Lee ended his speech on a political note.
“The 2020 presidential election is around the corner,” he said. “Let’s all mobilize. Let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing!”
His sentiment was a call to action and also referenced Lee’s 1989 filmDo the Right Thing. The film examined race relations in a Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood and the tragic consequences of letting hate and racism go unchecked.
RELATED VIDEO: Spike Lee Wore a Prince-inspired Outfit on the Red Carpet
John David Washington stars as Stallworth, while Adam Driver, Laura Harrier and Topher Grace also feature in the film.
The script beat out fellow nomineesThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs,If Beale Street Could Talk,A Star Is BornandCan You Ever Forgive Me?
source: people.com
