Jamie Foxx Defends SNL 'Kill All the White People' Joke on NBC's 'Today': 'I'm a Comedian'

December 12th, 2012 1:05 PM

In an interview with actor Jamie Foxx on Wednesday's NBC Today about his upcoming movie Django Unchained, co-host Savannah Guthrie brought up offensive comments Foxx made while hosting Saturday Night Live: "You said your character gets to, quote, 'kill all the white people,' adding, 'how great is that?' I know you know about the criticism, do you think it was fair?" [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Rather than show any regret for the remark, Foxx simply replied: "I'm a comedian. So, I mean, I'm not a – I don't even know what to say." Instead of following up on that non-answer, Guthrie made the awkward transition: "Back to the movie..."

Here is a transcript of the brief December 12 exchange:

8:54AM ET

(...)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: I gotta ask you, you hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

FOXX: Yeah.

GUTHRIE: Some people raised some eyebrows at part of what you said. It was part of your monologue, a joke. You said your character gets to, quote, "kill all the white people," adding, "how great is that?" I know you know about the criticism, do you think it was fair? I mean, how do you look back on it now?

FOXX: I mean, I – I'm a comedian. So, I mean, I'm not a – I don't even know what to say.

GUTHRIE: Back to the movie...

(...)