Brow Beat

Spike Lee Predicts Sex Strikes Across College Campuses in the Wake of Chi-Raq

Spike Lee’s new film, Chi-Raq, spins off the Ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, in which Athenian women vow to withhold sex until their men end the Peloponnesian War. Lee’s modernized version is set in South Side Chicago, where more Americans have died than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. During his appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night, Lee blamed the violence on lax gun control laws and predicted that, thanks to Chi-Raq, sex strikes will prove both highly popular and highly effective in ending violence. “I think that a sex strike could really work on college campuses where there’s an abundance of sexual harassment and date rapes,” Lee told Colbert. “Second semester it’s going to happen. Once people come back from Christmas, there’s going to be sex strikes at universities and college campuses across this country. I believe it.”

Not one to waste time, Colbert trotted Lee through a series of topics including the release of graphic dashcam footage showing a Chicago officer gunning down teenager Laquan McDonald. “Do you believe it’s always better to see an event even if it can incite a violent reaction?” Colbert asked. “I’m glad that the tape is being released because this is democracy, and I don’t think we can pick and choose what America should see,” Lee answered.