The scriptwriters for Barbershop—Mark Brown, Don D. Scott, and Ken Kaufman—included jokes that called Martin Luther King Jr. a “hoe” and suggested Rosa Parks “didn’t do anything but sit,” intended for shock value. Cedric the Entertainer, who starred in the film, supported the jokes, saying he knew they would generate backlash but defended them by claiming, “that’s how folks talk in barbershops.” Cedric also explained that the original jokes about civil rights figures were even worse, but he had tried to water them down. Regarding the Rosa Parks joke, he said it was more about her not being the only person who had sat down in protest. He also mentioned that he styled his hair in a way meant to resemble Frederick Douglass. Civil rights leaders, including Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the King estate, called for a boycott of the film and demanded that MGM remove the scene and issue an apology. Dick Gregory publicly criticized Cedric, calling him a “dirty dog” for making jokes about freedom fighters and civil rights activists. MGM’s CEO refused to alter the film, stating he believed Black audiences supported it, and Chris McGur, the studio’s Vice Chairman and COO, confirmed that the scene would not be censored or edited.
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