Key Takeaways
- Jamie Foxx said he pushed Quentin Tarantino to cut a scene in which Django and Broomhilda were raped because he wanted to protect Kerry Washington from having the graphic sequence follow her career forever.
- Foxx also urged Tarantino to keep Broomhilda present throughout Django’s journey, prompting the director to add recurring images that reinforced Django’s mission to rescue his wife.
- The revelation follows Foxx’s announcement that he and Alyce Huckstepp are expecting his third child, years after his daughters Corinne and Anelise helped him recover from a 2023 stroke.
Jamie Foxx says Quentin Tarantino originally wrote a scene in which both Django and Broomhilda were raped in Django Unchained, but Foxx pushed the director to remove it out of concern for co-star Kerry Washington. The revelation comes as Foxx, 58, has been speaking publicly about family, protection, and his decision to become a father for the third time.
“Broomhilda and Django get raped,” Foxx said during the August 25 episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer. According to the Oscar winner, he, Washington, and Tarantino discussed what filming such a graphic sequence could mean for Washington as she entered a defining period in her career.
“Once we got together, Quentin and I and Kerry—we wanted to protect Kerry Washington,” Foxx explained. “Why? Because movies are forever. Meaning that if there is some bombastic scene, you can’t take it out, and it’s forever.”
Washington was preparing to become Olivia Pope on ABC’s Scandal, which premiered in April 2012, months before Django Unchained opened in theaters. The political drama would run for seven seasons, earn Washington multiple Emmy nominations, and establish Olivia as one of the era’s most recognizable television characters.
“We wanted to make sure that we protected Olivia Pope,” Foxx said.
Washington previously discussed the deleted scene in her 2023 memoir, Thicker Than Water. She wrote that the sequence deeply troubled her and that Tarantino announced shortly before it was scheduled to be filmed that he had removed it.
Washington wondered whether something Foxx said to the director influenced the decision. His latest account now confirms that he was directly involved in those conversations.
Foxx also pressed Tarantino to keep Broomhilda more visible throughout Django’s journey. He believed the character was risking everything to rescue his wife—not attempting to single-handedly end slavery—and that viewers needed to feel her presence. Tarantino subsequently added recurring images of Broomhilda in Django’s thoughts and surroundings.
The disclosure arrives days after Foxx discussed another major family decision. He and his girlfriend, Alyce Huckstepp, are expecting their first child together, Foxx’s third. He admitted he was “a little on the fence” about having another baby at 58 until a conversation with Al Pacino changed his perspective.
Foxx is already the father of Corinne Foxx, 32, and Anelise Bishop, 17. Both daughters became central to his recovery after a 2023 brain bleed led to a stroke.
Corinne initially informed the public about his medical emergency, while Anelise played guitar beside his hospital bed. Foxx later said his vital signs improved as she played, calling the instrument his “spiritual defibrillator.”
He thanked both daughters for helping save his life while accepting the Ultimate Icon Honor at the 2025 BET Awards.
