This famous "slap heard 'round the world" scene from IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT ('67) marked the first time an African American man had ever slapped a white man on screen before, which Star of the Month Sidney Poitier insisted on. | Turner Classic Movies: TCM

In the original script for 1967’s In the Heat of the Night, Poitier’s character was meant to endure the slap, staying silent and merely walking away. Mr. Poitier REFUSED to let the scene play out in that manner as it was, “insulting every Black person in the world.” Sidney Poitier not only demanded that the retaliatory slap be included in the major Hollywood production, he also insisted on a guarantee that it remain in every iteration of the film, making history as the first time a Black man sla