Jamie Foxx has revealed he intervened to have an “outlandish” scene cut from Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film “Django Unchained” to protect co-star Kerry Washington.
Foxx, 58, made the disclosure during an appearance on the “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” podcast Tuesday. The Oscar-winning actor explained that Tarantino’s original script contained graphic sexual violence involving both his character, Django, and Washington’s character, Broomhilda von Shaft.
“If you read the script, Broomhilda and Django get raped,” he told host Keke Palmer. “But once we got together, Quentin and I and Kerry, we wanted to protect Kerry Washington.”
Foxx elaborated on his reasoning for the protective measure, noting the permanent nature of film. “Why? Because movies are forever. Meaning that if there is some bombastic scene, you can’t take it out and it’s forever and you can clip it out of context,” he added.
The “Ray” star said he advocated for Washington’s future career prospects, even referencing her eventual iconic role before it existed. “I wanted to make sure that we protected Olivia Pope,” Foxx said, name-checking Washington’s career-defining “Scandal” character years before the series premiered.
“I said, ‘Hey, she’s going to have this show and we want to protect her,’ and [Tarantino] was with it. So all of that sort of outlandish stuff left,” Foxx shared on the podcast.
The collaboration between Foxx and Tarantino extended beyond removing the assault scenes. Foxx also pushed for Washington to have more presence throughout the narrative, telling Tarantino, 63, that “his woman” wasn’t in the script enough.
“Quentin goes, ‘Yeah, it’s an omelette. It’s an omelette and all these ingredients. I’m going to throw some more of Broomhilda.’ So in the movie, when you watch it, those scenes where Kerry Washington is sort of in his eyes — that wasn’t in the script,” Foxx recalled.
Tarantino’s response led to significant restructuring of Washington’s role. “He placed Kerry Washington to make sure it was the through line. So that Django was a guy going to get love in the worst circumstance,” Foxx explained.
Foxx praised the “Pulp Fiction” director for his flexibility during production. “Quentin goes, ‘Yeah, it’s an omelette. It’s an omelette and all these ingredients. I’m going to throw some more of Broomhilda,'” he repeated, emphasizing Tarantino’s accommodating approach to the creative adjustments.
In the viral moment that became “Django Unchained,” the film follows an enslaved man who trains under a German bounty hunter with the ultimate goal of reuniting with his wife. The movie became Tarantino’s highest-grossing film with nearly $450 million worldwide, surpassing all previous Westerns including 1990’s “Dances with Wolves.” It also generated significant controversy for its extensive use of racial slurs and depictions of violence against enslaved people.
Foxx’s podcast appearance marks a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the actors shaped the final cut of the Academy Award-winning Western.
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