Spike Lee backs Bernie Sanders ahead of South Carolina primary: 'Wake up -- the system is rigged'

Director Spike Lee has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in a radio ad targeting South Carolina voters, four days before the state’s Democratic primary.

“Wake up!” the spot begins, over a soul backing track. “Wake up, South Carolina! This is your dude Spike Lee. And I know that you know the system is rigged. For too long we’ve given our votes to corporate puppets. Sold the Okie-doke.”

“99% of Americans were hurt by the Great Recession of 2008, and many are still recovering,” Lee continues. “And that’s why I am officially endorsing my brother Bernie Sanders. Bernie takes no money from corporations. Nada. Which means he is not on the take. And when Bernie gets into the White House, he will do the right thing.”

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He adds: “How can we be sure? Bernie was at the March on Washington with Dr King. He was arrested in Chicago for a protest of segregation in public schools. He has fought for wealth and education equality throughout his career.”

African Americans account for more than half of South Carolina’s Democratic primary electorate. The ad does not mention Sanders’s rival, Hillary Clinton, who polls show is leading in the state and nationally among non-white voters.

Lee, a New Yorker born in Atlanta, is the director of Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, the Hurricane Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke and, most recently, Chi-Raq, a Lysistrata-inspired tale of love and violence in Chicago.

The radio ad differs slightly from a text circulated by the Sanders campaign, in which Lee calls Sanders his “main man” instead of “brother”.

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