If you think you can foolishly demean a popular TV show on social media without consequences, you have another think coming.
Namely, it will be Ice-T who will come for you for your judgy comment.
The 66-year-old rapper plays Sergeant Odafin "Fin" Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU, which was renewed for its 26th season.
Long-running TV shows like the popular crime procedural and spin-offs go through periodic shakeups to keep loyal viewers continuing to tune in.
The challenge lies in keeping the tone in popular shows consistent despite the revolving door of cast changes and bold choices in overarching plotlines.
One devoted viewer of SVU thought the show was veering in a direction that didn't align with their personal views and griped about it on social media.
The fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"Did they write SVU back to normal yet? It started to go woke."
Ice-T didn't let the questionable opinion go unchallenged.
He took the fan to task, writing:
"What the F is Woke? lol Like I give a F'k."
@FINALLEVEL/X
The response prompted another user to join the discussion and offer their take on the meaning of wokeness.
"Woke means tearing down my John Wayne statues and forcing me to erect a Spider-Man fountain that sprays gay beer on my lawn that turns it into astroturf," read the response.
To which Ice-T said:
"That sounds dope… F John Wayne."
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Woke is a term that was originally used to raise awareness on issues relating to racism, discrimination, and social justice. Saying someone was woke or "awake" meant they had "woken up" to racial and social injustices in America.
In politics, the term, which supports inclusion and cultural sensitivity policies, has been co-opted by conservatives to criticize progressive policies they don't agree with.
Ice-T's reactive animosity toward John Wayne, who died in June 1979, stems from Wayne's discriminatory remarks from a 1971 Playboy Magazine interview.
In the interview, the actor, famous for Western movies like True Grit (1969) and The Quiet Man (1952), promoted white supremacy and made derogatory comments aimed at Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ people.
He said in the interview:
"With a lot of blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent and rightfully so."
“But we can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks.”
Wayne continued:
“I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility."
"I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people."
Although he didn't condone the enslavement of Black people, Wayne noted:
“I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves.”
He slammed Native Americans for their part in American history, saying:
“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. … (O)ur so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival."
“There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
Wayne also called movies like Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy "perverted" and used a gay slur when describing characters in the latter film.
“Wouldn’t you say that the wonderful love of those two men in Midnight Cowboy, a story about two f*gs, qualifies?” he posed.
After being asked more about movies, Wayne replied:
“But don’t get me wrong. As far as a man and a woman is concerned, I’m awfully happy there’s a thing called sex."
"It’s an extra something God gave us. I see no reason why it shouldn’t be in pictures. Healthy, lusty sex is wonderful.”
His bigoted comments would later resurface in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 and result in the push to remove his statues.
Students demanded Wayne's statue be removed from an exhibit at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, where Wayne attended in the 1920s on a football scholarship, and Democratic politicians lobbied to change the name of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, where he lived in neighboring city Newport Beach.
Ice-T stans were here for the clap back against woke critics.
Law & Order fans defended the show for always maintaining its tone and offered their take on wokeness.
On Tuesday, Ice-T stated that he steers clear of politics.
He wrote on X:
"I stay outta Political sh*t. Like I said before… The Blue Vs The Red… It’s GangBangin to me."
He also previously confirmed that he was not a part of either major party.
"For the record. I am not a Democrat and I am not Republican so you can miss me with all your Left-Right talk.. Both Wings are on the same Bird," he said in a June 1, 2020 tweet.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will return for its 26th season on Thursday, October 3 during NBC's 2024-2025 season.
Ice-T and co-star Mariska Hargitay's appearances in the new season will extend their legacy of being the longest-running male and female series actors in television history.
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