Lee Daniels’ The Butler Made Obama A Little Weepy
Lee Daniels’ The Butlermight not have impressed the Reagans, but President Obama was reportedly very moved by the critically acclaimed film.
In an interview with Tom Joyner and co-host Sybil Wilkes of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, President Obama touched on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, race relations in America, and whether or not MLK would have approved of Obamacare.
This eventually led into a question about Lee Daniels’ The Butler, a film about an African-American who served several presidents in the White House. The film’s focus on the pseudo-nonfictional character Cecil Gaines is juxtaposed by major moments in the civil rights movement.
President Obama said that he teared up a little, complimenting the main players.
“Oprah, my girl, she can act,” Obama said. He also complimented the current White House service staff.
“I will tell you that the butlers who are now here in the White House, when we first arrived,” he added, “they could not have been kinder to us and warmer to us. And part of it, I suspect, is they look at Malia and Sasha and they say, well, this looks like my grandbaby, or this looks like my daughter. And I think for them to have a sense that we’ve come that far was a powerful moment for them, and certainly a powerful moment for us.”
You can listen to Obama’s interview with the Tom Joyner Morning Showhere, and let us know what you think about his comments on Obamacare and Dr. King below:
