Lee Daniels is one of the most controversial directors in Hollywood, but no one can argue his loyalty as a friend.
In our exclusive video, the filmmaker steps up to defend criticism of his dear friend Mariah Carey (who also had a role in his Oscar-winning film Precious) playing a sharecropper in his latest effort, Lee Daniels' The Butler. "They was stupid, and they didn't do their research," Daniels says of critics who believe Carey is too light-skinned to play a sharecropper. 
The director also sounds off on LGBT rights, Trayvon Martin and much more in our one-on-one interview. Plus, Daniels shares his thoughts on race relations in America from civil rights to today.
Check out our exclusive interview with Lee Daniels in the video below and see Lee Daniels' The Butler in theaters this Friday, August 16.

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