Legendary actor, Samuel L. Jackson and basket ball legend Magic
Johnson experienced first hand racism while on a vacation together in
Tuscany, Italy.
The legendary NBA icon posted a photo of himself and the Oscar
nominee sitting side-by-side on a bench with luxury shopping bags at
their feet, while they sat on a bench together in Forte dei Marmi in
Tuscany, Italy. While they sat there, fans flocked around to take photos
of them. Magic Johnson shared the photo on his twitter page and wrote:
“Sam and I chilling out on a bench yesterday in Forte dei Marmi, Italy. The fans started lining up to take pictures with us.”
The photo quickly went viral after they were showcased these
millionaires as a pair of “migrants” who were able to live lavishly only
because they used money from the Government which they did not deserve.
The photo was made into a meme by Italian journalist Luca Bottura. The meme which was made in Italian read: “Government funds at Forte dei Marmi…they go shopping at Prada with
their daily allowance of 35 euros.” The caption then encouraged viewers
to share the meme if they were outraged by what the meme stated.
After the outrage, Bottura said many wholly misunderstood his
intentions and instead expressed their “disgust” and “shame” at the two
star’s extravagant shopping spree. Critics referred to the 35 euros paid
by Italian citizens for accommodating refugees on EU quotas while
venting their frustrations.
Once the meme went viral, a well-known singer and model named Nina Moric also shared it on her Facebook page and wrote: “To see migrants lounging around on benches in places like Forte dei
Marmi, living off the 35 euros a day that they get from us, is really
too much.”
After an outrage by Italians and other online users who called her
out for her racist and ignorant comment, she insisted that her post was a
joke and that she would never confuse Samuel L. Jackson and Magic
Johnson for migrants because she used to live in the U.S. and knew the
stars.
She later insisted her post was also a “social experiment”. She
argued it was proof of the fact people use social media to “confirm
their prejudices, regardless of what the truth is. None of us are immune
to this phenomenon.” She added.
Oblivious to who was in the image, one critic said: ”Nina Moric is
right and this is shameful … I am not racist, but I know there are
people who really do not have money, while these wear branded clothes
and relax”.
A lot of Italians went on both Magic’s Jackson’s page to express
their sincere apology for the way their fellow countrymen treated them
in regards to the meme.
Bottura later wrote on Facebook: “The meme has been shared thousands
of times and 40 per cent of people understood the provocation, 30 per
cent were outraged and 20 per cent thought it was a racist meme and that
I had failed to recognise Samuel Jackson and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, (I
will not reveal the 10 per cent).”