Spike Lee FINALLY Wins an Oscar for ‘BlackKklansman’

A wave of actual jubilation rolled through the Dolby Theater tonight when Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson got to present legendary auteur Spike Lee for his very first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlackKklansman.

Lee has long been shut out from the Oscars — to the point that his breakthrough film Do The Right Thing failed to get a Best Picture nomination or Best Director nod back in 1990. (It was a huge controversy at the time, and one that Kim Basinger famously used her time onstage as a presenter to call attention to the Academy’s oversight.) So when Larson and Jackson happily announced Lee’s win, everyone in auditorium seemed to cheer and stand for Lee — who immediately embraced Jackson in a leaping hug.

Lee went on to deliver an inspiring speech that gave a shout out to NYU’s film program, called out the genocide of native peoples, and implored everyone present to choose love over hate in the 2020 presidential election. Lee ended his speech by yelling, “Let’s do the right thing!”

Lee shares this Academy Award fro Best Adapted Screenplay with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott. Lee could still win another Oscar tonight, as he is in the running for Best Director, and BlackKklansman is nominated for Best Picture.

Where to stream BlackKklansman