Samuel L. Jackson Tells Internet ‘STFU’ After Awkward Encounter With Victoria Beckham At Wimbledon
Samuel L. Jackson and Victoria Beckham appeared to share – or not share — one of the more awkward celebrity encounters you’re likely to see when the former Spice Girl and the Snakes On A Plane star found themselves placed in adjacent seats in the Royal Box during the gentlemen’s final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships Sunday.
Photos and a six-second Vine video that went viral Monday appeared to show the 65-year-old Jackson and Beckham, 40, squirming uncomfortably in their seats at they silently ignored each other’s presence.
E! Online pointed out that the two celebs do not make the most natural of pairings.
“To be fair, though, these two might not have a lot to talk about. Did Victoria see Snakes on a Plane? Was Sam a big fan of the Spice Girls?” the entertainment site wondered. “Doubtful, but both stars are well aware of an age-old adage: Silence is golden!”
But according to Jackson, the whole incident was nothing more than a case of a photo and, in this case, six-second video, taking an isolated moment out of context to create a misleading impression.
He took to his Twitter account to tell the entire internet, as only Samuel L. Jackson can, to STFU. (And if you don’t know what that stands for, Google it.)
“Lotta Bull**** goin’ round,” the Pulp Fiction star wrote. “I had a ball sitting next to @victoriabeckham at Wimbledon yesterday! Truly Lovely! STFU!!”
The online buzz started when this photo hit the web and was quickly passed around.
Again, going back to the E! Online description, “both appear to doing the standard nervous fidget—aka. adjusting hair or items of clothing in an attempt to occupy oneself as opposed to partaking in frivolous small talk.”
And then there was this Vine clip, posted by Brian Floyd of the sports blog SB Nation.
Granted, on both the photo and the video clip, Beckham and Jackson do appear rather strained, especially when you look at them with the preconceived impression created by sites like E!, BuzzFeed and the numerous other internet outlets that seized on the visual evidence to create a perfect “Celebrities, they’re just like us!” moment.
But other photos showed Jackson, best known to a current generation of moviegoers as S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nick Fury in the Marvel Comics superhero movie series, leaning over to engage in what appears to be perfectly pleasant banter with Victoria Beckham’s husband, and world’s most famous retired soccer star, David Beckham.
And as for the apparent “adjusting hair or items of clothing,” well, sometimes hair and items of clothing need to be adjusted. Don’t they?
What do you think? Were Samuel L. Jackson and Victoria Beckham each praying for the match to be over in straight sets so they could both get out of there in a hurry? Or is the whole incident just another example of the internet getting a little too excited about nothing?
[Images Via Bing]
