Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, director LaTanya Richardson Jackson, reportedly caused a scene at the Theatre Communications Group gala on Monday night. Sources told Page Six that the couple got into an argument in the press room, resulting in Samuel leaving, though the event organizer said he was never supposed to stay. According to an insider at the event honoring the Jacksons, “They apparently were in a fight when they arrived. They posed for pictures together, and then the fight [went on].” Another source told the outlet that the duo had a disagreement in the Edison Ballroom pressroom, where Samuel appeared annoyed. The first source added that Samuel left the event before the couple was honored, and “LaTanya accepted solo.” Vanessa Williams presented the award.
Furthermore, LaTanya explained to the audience that COVID-19 concerns caused her husband to leave the event, Page Six reported. A rep for the gala told Page Six, “As the top-billed star of ‘The Piano Lesson,’ Mr. Jackson is extraordinarily cautious about the risk putting the production in jeopardy by exposing himself to COVID-19. Ms. Jackson accepted on behalf of both she and her husband simply to minimize his risk of exposure. Mr. Jackson had only ever planned on doing photos and then leaving, as everyone involved with planning the event knew in advance.” The spokesman continued, “It was a magical evening, and they helped raise a record haul of more than $300,000 to support TCG’s mission of creating a more just and equitable theater ecology.”
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Neither Samuel nor LaTanya have commented on the incident. Currently, LaTanya is directing Samuel in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. The pair has been married for 42 years. The Pulp Fiction star previously told PEOPLE of their marriage, “It’s two people who respect each other, love each other and look out for each other.” LaTanya told the outlet that the two made a pact never to separate. “In the beginning, we always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together, raise their children with the nucleus of having a father and a mother, since everybody likes to pretend that that’s not the dynamic of the African American family. That it’s just children out here being raised by women, which we know is false,” she said. “In order to change that narrative, we made a decision to say, ‘We are going to stay together no matter what. We’ll figure it out.’”
