Source: Mark Reinstein / Getty
Samuel L. Jackson had a biting question via social media for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after the judge made a call to overturn rights concerning same-sex marriage and contraception.
The actor’s angry question came in the wake of the Supreme Court voting to eliminate access to abortion by a 6-3 vote, overturning the landmark decision in the 1973 Roe V. Wade case. In an opinion related to the vote, Thomas wrote that the same argument behind the majority opinion that abortion was not protected by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution could be applied in the future to overturn decisions that granted people the right to same-sex marriage and using contraception. In response to that news, Jackson sent out a tweet on Friday (June 24th) saying, “How’s Uncle Clarence feeling about Overturning Loving v Virginia??!!”
The tweet was a not-so-subtle dig at the judge, who apparently failed to mention the 1967 case of Loving V. Virginia, which protected the right to interracial marriage in cases he felt should be overturned. Jackson’s referral to “Uncle Clarence” was also not lost on many reading the tweet, seeing it as equivalent to calling him an “Uncle Tom”, the term used widely by those in the Black community to refer to someone who submissively defers to authority figures that are white.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz quote-tweeted Jackson with a tepid response: “The hateful bigotry of the Left knows no bounds.”
In an appearance on MSNBC’s The Reid Out, Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the 2015 case before the Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriages, noted that omission as well. “That affects him personally, but he doesn’t care about the LGBTQ+ community,” Obergefell said during his interview.
“He is opposed to our equality. He is opposed to our ability to actually be a part of ‘we the people.’” In a statement sent out later, he condemned Justice Thomas’ comments: “The millions of loving couples who have the right to marriage equality to form their own families do not need Clarence Thomas imposing his individual twisted morality upon them. If you want to see an error in judgment, Clarence Thomas, look in the mirror.”