Spike Lee's new satirical drama Chi-Raq had already caused quite a bit of controversy before its release date on December, 4th. Now, however, the vitriol against the movie seems to have grown far stronger. Many feel that Lee is glossing over, or even making light, of the unspeakable in the Southern and Western sections of Chicago. The film is meant to be a satire, and "glorifies" certain violent imagery to make a greater point of failures of the government and society to mitigate the problem. Some also feel that Lee has overstated the issue for a hyperbolic, cinematic effect. On Sway In The Morning, the acclaimed director discussed the backlash regarding his film.

According to AllHipHop, many Chicago rappers have voiced concerns over the film. Rhymefest, Chance the Rapper, and King Louie have all refused to voice their support for the controversial film.

In response to critics of the film, Spike told Sway, "For those haters who have not seen the film who felt that we were making fun of the murder on the streets of Chicago or we were making light of it - Let me ask everybody a question. Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and nephew were murdered in Chicago. Why would Jennifer Hudson be in a film that ridiculed her murdered mother, brother, and nephew? Why is she being part of that?"

The renowned director continued, "[At the end of the movie] these black women are holding up posters of their young children that were murdered in the streets. Why would they ridicule their children by being in a film that did that? So people talking that sh*t, they don't know what the f*ck they're talking about. This film, in no way, shape, or form, makes fun of anybody that got killed. This film was made to save lives, and all this other sh*t people are talking about is a distraction."

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