Published Friday, 18 January 2013
The slavery-era Western, which is nominated for five Academy Awards, has sparked controversy for its repeated use of racially-charged insults and Lee recently vowed to boycott the movie as such language is "disrespectful" to his ancestors.
However, Foxx has questioned the validity of Lee's criticism, telling The Guardian: "The questions for me is (sic): Where is Spike Lee coming from?... I mean, I respect Spike, he's a fantastic director. But he gets a little shady when he takes shots at his colleagues without looking at the work. To me, that's irresponsible."
The actor goes on to defend the movie's director, Quentin Tarantino, and insist the entertainment industry has always pushed the boundaries when dealing with the sensitive issue of race.
He adds: "You got to look at the individual cases. When Pat Boone covered Little Richard, you think, 'Huh?', he's got no affinity for it... But you can't tell me that Eminem ain't (sic) hot 'cos he's white or that Elvis Presley isn't a bad motherf*****, or that Quentin Tarantino can't do whatever he likes, 'cos damn straight he can."