Marlon Wayans Defends ‘White Chicks’ Against Cancel Culture: ‘I Don’t Know What Planet We’re On’

Marlon Wayans is ready to walk “A Thousand Miles” to defend his 2004 film “White Chicks.”

The controversial comedy starred Wayans and his brother Shawn Wayans as two FBI agents who go undercover as white women to stop a kidnapping. Wayans’ brother Keenan Ivory Wayans directed the film.

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Looking back on the jokes and white face premise that is now viewed by some as inappropriate, Wayans slammed the concept of cancel culture in comedies.

“I don’t know what planet we’re on, where you think people don’t need laughter, and that people need to be censored and canceled,” Wayans told Buzzfeed. “If a joke is gonna get me canceled, thank you for doing me that favor.”

He continued, “It’s sad that society is in this place where we can’t laugh anymore. I ain’t listening to this damn generation. I ain’t listening to these folks: These scared-ass people, these scared executives. Y’all do what you want to do? Great. I’m still gonna tell my jokes the way I tell them. And if you want to make some money, jump on board. And if not, then I’ll find a way to do it myself. I know my audience. My audience comes to my shows every weekend and they leave feeling great and laughing. One thing about the Wayans, we’ve always told the worst joke the best way.”

Wayans previously said during a 2020 oral history of the film for Entertainment Weekly that “white chicks” love “White Chicks” the most in the film’s fandom.

“That’s how you know it’s a good movie. For us, I think a good joke in comedy is when the people you make fun of laugh the loudest,” Wayans said at the time. “And what’s beautiful is that we’re equal-opportunity offenders. It was a great exploration of gender, of race, of pop culture, and done with kid gloves so everybody could laugh. And I think that’s what makes it a cult classic to this day.”

“Monty Python” icon John Cleese similarly said that cancel culture has a “disastrous effect” on comedy, while fellow British comedian Rowan Atkinson said it’s “comedy’s job to offend” audiences one way or another. Emmy winner Jerrod Carmichael likened cancel culture to the “boogeyman” and a “ghost villain” to give “boring people something interesting to talk about.”

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