Will Packer Defends ‘Roots’ After Snoop Dogg Criticism

The classic but controversial 1970s miniseries Roots, which focuses on slavery from the point of view of those who were enslaved, has gotten a remake. And it seems the subject matter is no less controversial now than it was then.

The first episode aired on Memorial Day to a whopping total of 8.5 million viewers, but not everyone was opting to tune in.

In fact, Snoop Dogg vehemently voiced his disagreement with remaking the series, but producer Will Packer (Straight Outta Compton, Ride Along), who worked on the new version, recently defended the decision.

In an Instagram post, Snoop made a case against watching programming that focuses on past abuse. “I don’t understand America,” he said. “They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”

“But guess what?” he continued. “We’re taking the same abuse. Think about that part. When you all going to make a f***ing series about the success that black folks is having. The only success we have is Roots and 12 Years A Slave?”

Check out the full video here:

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A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on May 30, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

Though Snoop Dogg has some valid point’s, Packer has a different and equally compelling argument about shows like Roots.

Read more to see Packer’s response: