Jordan Peele Says Spike Lee "Shut Me Right Down" When They First Met

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Jordan Peele accepts the award for Best Director for 'Get Out' with filmmaker Spike Lee at the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards on March 3, 2018 in Santa Monica, California.
Jordan Peele talks "Us," Spike Lee, and more with Jimmy Fallon.

Jordan Peele's becoming one of the most revered horror film directors of this generation. He's been in the game for years, initially gaining fame alongside Keegan Michael-Key as Key & Peele before solidifying himself as a screenwriter and director. Since the release of 2017's Get Out, he went on to executive produce Spike Lee's for the Oscar-nominated BlacKkKlansman. However, his relationship with Spike Lee didn't start in Hollywood. It started in Peele's college classroom where Spike Lee came to deliver a lecture.

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During Peele's time at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, an unenthusiastic Spike Lee showed up to deliver a lecture. Peele admitted that it likely wasn't Spike Lee's first choice to deliver a speech since it wasn't entirely his main demographic, saying the school's population was made up of 70% white women.

"He was kind of, like, you know, mercurial with us," he told Jimmy Fallon. "At one point, I was like, 'Alright, well, you know, the black guy's got a question.' And I asked a question and he was like, "Mnh-mnh, mnh-mnh, sit down,' you know? He shut me right down and then that's how we met."

He also explained the difference between working on Us and Get Out.

"It was, first of all, I knew I could get it made," he said. "That was a big difference. When I was writing Get Out, I'm like 'They're gonna shut me down any second' and with this one, I knew I could get it made... I had a lot of love behind my back and the wind beneath my wings and I knew I could just make a movie that I wanted to see, my favorite movie that doesn't exist, and that's what I did."


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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