How Jamie Foxx Protected Kerry Washington on ‘Django Unchained’ Set

The 2012 Oscar-winning film “Django Unchained” has since become a cult classic, thanks in large part to star Jamie Foxx’s gunslinging, racist-killing character’s quest to reunite with the love of his life, Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington. Now, the veteran actor is opening up about the filming process and how he stepped in to protect Washington and improve the film’s storyline.

Sitting down for an all-new interview with Keke Palmer on her “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” podcast, Foxx explained that there was initially a sexual assault scene that would’ve involved both him and Washington’s character. But in an effort to keep his costar from having that harsh scene attached to her while she was on the brink of another major project, he intervened.

“If you read the script: Broomhilda and Django get raped. But once we got together, Quentin and I, and Kerry—we wanted to protect Kerry Washington. Because movies are forever,” Foxx explained.

Related: Jamie Foxx: ‘Django’ Is Fly and Educational

He went on to explain the perils that filming a “bombastic” scene can have on an actor, in that it could be taken out of context and stick with the actor throughout their career. Foxx said they wanted to “protect Olivia Pope,” [Washington’s “Scandal” character], explaining that he knew she was on the verge of an important role.

“Scandal” premiered in April 2012, just months before “Django Unchained” hit theaters that December. So, it’s plausible that both projects were being filmed, if not concurrently, then back-to-back.

“We wanted to protect her, and [Tarantino] was with it. So all of that outlandish stuff left,” Foxx said.

Later, he went on to share that he told the director that Django’s motivation throughout the movie seemed to be primarily tied to getting Broomhilda back, and not ending slavery. As such, Foxx suggested that they include more of Washington’s presence so that his character’s quest for love could be more visible to viewers.

“All he wanna do is [say] ‘I want my woman back.’ He’ll kill anybody. Black, green, red, blue or brown just to get his woman back. So if we’re able to increase [Washington’s presence]…” Fox said. “So in the movie when you watch it, those scenes where Kerry Washington is sort of in [Django’s] eyesight, that wasn’t in the script. He placed Kerry Washington so there could be that through-line.”

Check out Foxx’s explanation below!