On Sunday, June 30th, Spike Lee hosted the 30th anniversary of his Academy Awards nominated film, Do the Right Thing on the actual block that it was shot (a street now named Do the Right Thing Way). While the Oscar-award winning director paraded a cool dozen notables from his cinematic family, there was no one that fans wanted to see more than the pint-size Boricua that played Tina, Rosie Perez. In the movie, Tina was Mookie’s (played by Lee) girlfriend and baby’s mother. Prior to the role, Perez was known for her high energy gyrations and “pump-it-up” choreography on Soul Train and In Living Color. But after appearing in the DTRT, she would forever be the girl with the thick Brooklarican accent and how she pronounced her man’s name, “Moookieee.”
(Depending on who you ask, you might disagree and say the “ice scene,” but you know… we remember her well!)
READ MORE: Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” Returns to Theaters for the 30th Anniversary
When Spike pulled her up on the stage, she teased us with that legendary dance sequence from the movie…
But then went on to give a sweet speech about how Lee changed her life.
Perez said to the hyped up crowd, filled with adoring fans, “I can’t believe I danced, but that’s all for Brooklyn. Boricuas!!!! 30 years ago, I met this man and he changed my life. And we need men like him in Hollywood. And we are doing it and we are going to take over, baby. And it takes a man like Spike Lee to help push those doors down. And I appreciate that. I am getting emotional because he literally changed my life. And I thank you.”
She ended her remarks with a line from the movie: “And he so stuuuupppiiiiddd even!”
Rosie!
Posted by Nicole Yvonne Duncan-Smith on Sunday, June 30, 2019
Spike said that the reason why he chose Rosie is because he wanted to show solidarity between African-Americans and Puerto Ricans. There are 3,195,153 people in Puerto Rico… in the five boroughs???? 723,621.
