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Tuesday night’s episode of “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” reignited the ongoing debate about the use of the word “nigger” on television.
The show’s sixth episode reenacted a scene from the actual murder trial, which included a courtroom cross-examination between Simpson’s former defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey (played by Nathan Lane) and former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman (played by Steven Pasquale). In the scene, and throughout the taped exchange, Bailey uses the racial slur six times in reference to Simpson — and goes on to question Furhman on whether or not he has used the term at any time during the previous decade.
Reactions to the use of the controversial word on the show immediately spread on social media Tuesday night. However, despite the mixed responses, the show’s star Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays Simpson, says it’s “important” for actors to use the term on television.
“Absolutely I think it’s important,” Gooding told People.com. “Our job as artists is to reflect the ills of society sometimes and to find a truth in that, and I think you can’t start the healing process until you recognize the truth and all of its ugly warts and all.”
Gooding isn’t the only distinguished black star to weigh in on the issue. Last year, actor Terrence Howard also shared his thoughts on the censorship of the term in regards to his hit show, “Empire.”
“Why is TV showing something different from the reality of the world,” Howard previously told Entertainment Weekly. “Why is there a thing called censorship that stops people from hearing everyday talk? We use ‘nigga’ every day. It’s become part of a conversation — why aren’t we using it in the show?”
“American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” airs Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET on FX.
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