Marion Barry Blasts HBO's Take on His Life, Mentions Race of Film's Consultants

D.C. Councilman Marion Barry is going to war with HBO for the channel’s upcoming movie about his political life.

The former mayor took to Twitter today to blast HBO’s plans to chronicle his turbulent life in the public arena. Barry took issue with the skin color of the writers associated with the project (journalists Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood) as well as its original director, Spike Lee.

It’s really sad that @HBO solicits two white men to write a story about my life, profit therefrom, and has not talked to me once.

— Marion S. Barry, Jr. (@marionbarryjr) May 2, 2014

You ought to be ashamed of yourself @tomsherwood. How does it feel to profit off of my life? Off of my service? My struggles?

— Marion S. Barry, Jr. (@marionbarryjr) May 2, 2014

@SpikeLee I’ve always respected YOU & a filmmaker but I’m disgusted that @hbo is trying to tell MY life w/o working w/the 1 who lived it.

— Marion S. Barry, Jr. (@marionbarryjr) May 2, 2014

Some white people really do think they should tell the history of black experiences. Sad paternalists. We can speak for ourselves.

— Marion S. Barry, Jr. (@marionbarryjr) May 2, 2014

Barry contends the writers are set on sensationalizing the harder moments from his past, like the time he was arrested for smoking crack.

Barry says he turned against the HBO project after having dinner with John Ridley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave who was attached to the project with Spike Lee as the director. Barry says he was unhappy with how Ridley planned to portray his arrest at the Vista Hotel for smoking crack.

“I told him right then and there, you’re on the wrong track,” Barry says. “You’re going to sensationalize something that’s serious.”

The HBO project appears to be on a very slow track, given the initial news of the project broke in 2011. So Barry is vowing to make his own movie about his life to air before the HBO film is unveiled.