Cuba Gooding Criticized For New Role

Cuba Gooding Jr came under fire for his new role as a dirty cop - because family, friends and fans hated to see him in a dark role.

The actor admits he took the job in Dirty because he wanted to "shake things up" and give moviegoers a taste of what he could do - but his decision to play crooked cop Salim Adel upset his God-fearing mother.

He explains, "My mom and dad saw the film. A day later my mom calls me and says, 'We're Christians. I can't believe you would do such a negative role for your image. Don't you know that people look up to you as a role model?'

"I said, 'Mom the movie makes a statement, and it needs to be said and unfortunately my part in making that statement is something people really don't want to talk about. But the statement needs to be made.'"

But the fiercest criticism the actor has received came from fans, upset about a rape scene, in which his character takes advantage of a young woman.

Gooding Jr recalls, "We screened the movie in Memphis, Tennessee, and a black woman stood up with the same fervour my mom did and said, 'I did not like this movie. It's a negative movie and why did you use the 'N' word so much?'"


Speaking of Cuba, he is set to host The 37th NAACP Image Awards, which tapes Saturday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for a broadcast on March 3 at 8 p.m. on Fox.