Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Taye Diggs Talks Nia Long’s Slap Scene in 'The Best Man' (1999)

22 Jun 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:05

In a YouTube interview hosted by Draymond Green, actor Taye Diggs recounts the behind‑the‑scenes story of Nia Long’s slap in the 1999 film The Best Man. Diggs clarifies that the slap was scripted, but the crew deviated from the usual safety protocol: instead of cutting after the initial take, rehearsing the slap with a stunt double, and then reshooting, they filmed the entire scene straight through, and Nia delivered the slap without a stunt person. Diggs admits he was caught off guard and initially felt disrespected, expecting the crew to reprimand Nia for breaking protocol. Instead, the team praised the take, and Diggs realized that in the real world, personal pride must be set aside for the sake of the performance. He reflects that the incident taught him a lesson about humility and contributed to the scene’s impact.

Chapters

you said you didn't expect Nia Long to slap you. Is there a conversation of like, yo, you slapped the shit out of me? Is there a take 2, or is it like, I hope you got the shot because I'm not getting slapped again?
I have gotten the story wrong. I've been telling it wrong. The slap was scripted. Usually you shoot the scene up until the slap, you cut, you do the slap, then you cut, and then you finish the scene. We just went all the way through, and she just slapped me without the stunt person. So it was scripted. OK. I just wasn't expecting it. I'm thinking— You know, in acting school, you rehearse. And I was so just offended that, you know, she would go against protocol. So I was expecting everybody to be on my side, but everybody was like, "Oh, that was amazing. Moving on." And I was like, "What? Nobody gonna—" I thought she'd get chastised. I thought, you know, we were supposed to meet. "Do you understand how you disrespected?" Okay, none of that. Like, and thank God that was the case because that made that scene. Yes, it did. But I remember being like, oh, this is how the real world is. Like, nobody really cares about me. I just had to swallow my little pride. And then when I saw it, I was like, I get it.