In 2015, John Singleton backed out of directing a biopic about Tupac Shakur. At the time, Singleton posted a lengthy message on Instagram that stated “the people involved aren’t really respectful of the legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur” and also alluded to the fact that the people behind the movie were suing Assata Shakur for the rights to the film, and “of most importance was his love of black people and culture … Something the people involved in this movie know nothing about”.
Fast forward two years later, Shakur’s biopic All Eyez On Me, is being released later in June, with director Benny Boom at the helm. Because in Hollywood, the show always goes on. In a recent interview with GQ, Boom responded to Singleton’s criticism of the film.
“I know John, and this is the first time I’m speaking about it publicly,” Boom said. “But I feel like we have brothers who you think are supposed to support, and they don’t support. The community we have of directors of color is very small. I’m not saying you’re supposed to go out and cheerlead for everybody. But there needs to be support. And support sometimes just means not saying anything. I would never take shots at my brother. I’m not gonna do that because I know how detrimental it is, especially to someone who laid the groundwork and opened up doors.”
Boom also made mention that it was probably best that the film was made by a fan of Shakur and not a friend, because although Shakur had certain so-called friendships, he also wasn’t fond of a lot of people
“I just felt disappointed about the rhetoric. I understand he’s disappointed in the process. But Tupac was not happy with every single person he came in contact with by the end of his life, and we know this. The Hughes brothers, John. There’s several people out there who he spoke openly about not being friends with,” Boom continued.
Boom believes that everyone has a path in life already determined by God, and maybe it wasn’t in God’s plan to have Singleton work on the biopic.
“At the end of the day, what God has for you, can’t nobody take away from you. So John has to understand that God did not line this project up for him. That’s it,” Boom stated.
All Eyez on Me opens on June 16.
