Barbers seek Jackson 'Barbershop' apology - Oct. 25, 2002

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- In a classic tale of what goes around comes around, a group of barbers in Los Angeles has asked the Reverend Jesse Jackson to apologize for demanding an apology from the makers of hit movie "Barbershop."

Members of the National Association of Cosmetologists led by Chief Executive James Stern Thursday said Jackson erred when, in September, he demanded the film's makers apologize for for jokes about U.S. civil rights icons Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks made in the movie.

Stern told Reuters his group had screened the film, a comedy starring Ice Cube as the young owner of a community barbershop, and the 100 or so African-American cosmetologists at the screening found nothing offensive about the movie.

Stern added that members of his group have seen their businesses hurt by Jackson's comment, and he said if the leader of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition did not apologize himself, his group would sue Jackson for defamation of character.

A Jackson spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment.