Ernie Hudson thinks Ghostbusters marketing purposely snubbed him

Who ya gonna call? According to Ernie Hudson, anybody but the studio, claiming that Columbia Pictures purposely left him out of the marketing campaign of 1984’s Ghostbusters, despite being one of the four members.

During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Ernie Hudson recalled how the studio mistreated him during the promotion of Ghostbusters. “I was the guy who was brought in, and so finding my place in the middle of that–and they were all welcoming and inclusive–the studio wasn’t, and the studio continued not to be.” While Winston Zeddemore was not an original member of the crew, his presence and necessity in Ghostbusters is undeniable. So, yes, Ernie, we’re ready to believe you.

“It made it very, very difficult because I was a part of [Ghostbusters], but then very selectively, I was sort of pushed aside. You know, when the posters came out, I’m not on the posters. It took a long time.” Surely Ernie Hudson–the fourth Ghostbuster alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis–was on the poster! If you thought so, consider it a lesser-known version of the Mandela Effect because he is indeed not on the original artwork. Ernie Hudson even got the shaft in the end credits, his name showing up after William “This Man Has No Dick” Atherton’s. This is even after he delivers the movie’s last line! Ernie Hudson would end up being on the poster for Ghostbusters II, at least beating out He-Man for the spot.

Ernie Hudson also believes that his character was purposely given a lesser role as the screenplay evolved. “The original script, Winston was in the very beginning of the movie. By the time we got ready to shoot the movie, Winston came in halfway through the movie. All those things… It definitely felt deliberate.”

Ernie Hudson would reprise his Ghostbusters character in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife (after a cameo in 2016’s Ghostbusters reboot, although not as Winston). While Hudson wasn’t a fan of the 2016 version, saying, “a reboot, to me, means you’re trying to do the movie over. Another version of what we already did. And I think that was a mistake,” he did enjoy Afterlife. Hudson has voiced Winston in numerous video games, including last year’s Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed.

Do you think Ernie Hudson was unjustly left out of the marketing of Ghostbusters? What is his place in the Ghostbusters universe? Let us know below!