The Incident That Inspired The Bruce Lee Scene In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

The Incident That Inspired The Bruce Lee Scene In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Given the apparent differences between the Bruce Lee vs. Cliff Booth fight scene in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and how Lee had a much more positive real-life relationship with Gene LeBell, it's not surprising that Lee's friends and family were very critical of how Quentin Tarantino wrote his character. "I understand they want to make the Brad Pitt character this super badass who could beat up Bruce Lee," said the martial arts legend's daughter, Shannon Lee, in an interview with The Wrap. "But they didn't need to treat him in the way that white Hollywood did when he was alive."

Similarly, Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a piece for The Hollywood Reporter that blasted Tarantino for his "sloppy and somewhat racist" depiction of Lee. "Bruce Lee was my friend and teacher," he explained. "That doesn't give him a free pass for how he's portrayed in movies." Meanwhile, another one of Lee's proteges, Dan Inosanto, told Variety that his late mentor "would have never said anything derogatory" about Muhammad Ali, considering how he was a huge fan of the boxing icon.


For his part, Tarantino insisted that Lee was "kind of an arrogant guy," maintaining that he based his characterization of the actor on what he purportedly said in real life. "If people are saying, 'Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali,' well yeah, he did," the director continued, via Deadline. "Not only did he say that, but his wife, Linda Lee, said that in her first biography I ever read."