‘Coming 2 America’ Retcon Joke Proves Controversial

Since its premiere on March 5 on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video, the long-awaited sequel to Coming to America titled Coming 2 America has received increasingly negative reviews for its poor writing and annoying characters. The film was directed by Craig Brewer and once again starred Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem Joffer and Arsenio Hall as his best friend Semmi. Coming 2 America has been unfavorably compared to the original film and criticized for much of the comedy. However, one of the jokes in the film that has received some of the worst reception is the scene in which Akeem (Murphy) discovered how he sired a son when he had no recollection of sleeping with anyone besides his wife Lisa (Shari Headley).

The scene features Akeem learning from his dying father King Joffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) that he had a one night stand during his visit to America to find a queen. Akeem denies any knowledge of this, but Semmi is forced to reveal that this happened during their trip to a bar where they met several unsuitable candidates for a bride. The scene flashes back to the bar, where Semmi approaches two women and convinces them to sleep with him and Akeem. Going back to their apartment, one of the women named Mary (Leslie Jones) drugs Akeem, who due to being extremely high is unable to understand anything that is going on and believes she is a wild boar while she has sex with him. As Semmi nervously finishes his story, Akeem is outraged and attempts to strangle his best friend, much to the delight of the King, who eggs Akeem on to kill him. The scene was panned by critics and fans alike, who found it very problematic that Mary drugged Akeem and had sex with him without his consent.

Critics have connected the controversial scene to Wonder Woman 1984, which also features a scene where a character has sex with someone without their consent. Several critics on social media have slammed the scene for its bad taste and uncomfortable subject matter.

50 Best 2021 Concert Tours! Get Ticket Deals Here!