Fans are rediscovering a monologue delivered by LeVar Burton in Clipped, the 2024 Hulu sports drama series starring Laurence Fishburne.
Taken from the show’s finale episode, the scene sees Burton, who plays himself, discuss the double standard he’s subject to as a Black actor in Hollywood. While Fishburne is portraying a fictionalised version of real-life basketball coach Doc Rivers, Burton draws wholly from his own experience while acting in the scene, even mentioning his real-life movie credits, the public’s perception of him, and a true anecdote of the time he was punished after reading a book to children.
After referencing his real roles in Roots and Star Trek, as well as his hosting duties on children’s literacy series Reading Rainbows, Burton tells Fishburne’s Doc Rivers that the public “began to think of me as safe.” That changed, however, when Burton read the 90s children’s book Go The F**k To Sleep to a group of children as part of a charity event. “One of my brand partners dropped me,” Burton recalled in the scene, adding that his reading of the book caused him to “lose money.”
Burton is referring to a real-life incident in 2014 when he received criticism for reading the profanity-laced book during a charity fundraiser on the Children’s Miracle Network. While the actor did not respond to the controversy at the time, he seems to be reflecting on it while portraying himself in this scene from Clipped, saying it speaks to a broader issue of how Black actors are told to behave, and how that leaves him feeling angry.
“If I showed how angry I really am…,” Burton tells Doc Rivers before trailing off. “I want [people] to know, while I am unquestionably their friend, I am also absolutely filled with rage.” According to Clipped writer and producer Gina Welch, the decision to cast Burton — based on the public’s perception of him as safe — and have him relay real-life stories was intentional, and spoke to the show’s broader ideas about the frustration that builds within Black people when they are told how to behave.
“We wanted someone who occupied a place in the public imagination in terms of being a safe Black celebrity white people felt comfortable around,” Welch told Vulture. After reading the scripts and agreeing to the role, Welch said Burton’s only “caveat was, ‘I’ll do the show as long as I can talk about my rage.’” Welch said she wanted to give the two characters “a moment to talk about the psychic cost of suppressing rage to succeed in a white world.”
Welch’s direction makes sense for the story of Clipped, which dramatizes the downfall of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling after his racist remarks were captured on tape and heard around the world. Burton’s scene with Fishburne was among the most-talked-about moments from Clipped, with one fan writing that the actor delivered “an incredible, POWERFUL message.” Others said Burton “playing himself is one of the realest things,” and reflected on the message of his monologue.
“The WORLD wants you to be a safe Black person,” one fan wrote, “but at the same time they don’t wanna accept your humanity & your truth as Black person.” In other LeVar Burton news, the actor recently joined TikTok to hint at a future film, and said Reading Rainbow was “the best gig I ever had.”