Samuel L. Jackson Takes Aim At Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas With Incendiary Tweet

Samuel L. Jackson did not hold back with a mocking tweet that skewered Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who had an aggressive concurring opinion in the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.

Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion to the 6-3 abortion ruling added that the Supreme Court “should reconsider all of the Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” These Supreme Court decisions secured the right for adults to use contraceptives, declared it illegal to punish people for homosexual activity and legalized same-sex marriage respectively.

Substantive due process is the idea that the courts have an obligation to protect certain rights even if not explicitly stated in the Constitution, something Thomas disputes as an originalist.

Jackson’s tweet mentions Loving v. Virginia because it also utilized the concept of substantive due process to legalize interracial marriage. Jackson pointed out that Thomas likely didn’t include this decision on the list because he is in an interracial marriage with a white woman, Ginni Thomas, who was reportedly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Jackson’s jab calling Thomas “Uncle Clarence” was likely a reference to the concept of Uncle Tom, which generally stands for a person betraying their social allegiances and has been often used disparagingly against black men.