Director Tim Burton and Netflix are under attack by fans who claim the new Wednesday series is “racist” over the casting black actors as bully characters in the show.
Wednesday follows Wednesday Addams’ experience as a boarding school student at Nevermore Academy, where black actress Joy Sunday plays a mean girl named Bianca, and black actor Iman Marson plays Lucas, a bully and the son of a corrupt mayor.
While the “mean girl” and “son of a corrupt mayor” archetypes have been historically played by white actors in the entertainment industry, it appears that diversifying these types of characters has missed the mark for some fans.
“I’m not forwarding a comment request this silly to Tim,” Mike Simpson, a representative for Burton, told New York Post after being asked to comment on fans’ feedback.
“However, apparently Daylight Savings Time is racist,” added Simpson, who included a link to a CNN article arguing that Daylight Savings Time disproportionately affects the sleep and health of minority communities.
Simpson went on to say that Wednesday “was shot in Romania where DST is observed. Maybe that’s a better angle.”
Fans nonetheless have taken issue with the casting choices in Wednesday, with one Twitter user declaring, “My biggest complaint with the show, Wednesday, on Netflix: All of the bullies are the only Black characters.”
“Me trying to badly to push pass the racist and anti-Black undertones in the Wednesday Addams Netflix show. Like whoever thought making the Black man as the owner of a pilgrim amusement park is literally going to HELL,” another wrote.
“Don’t get me wrong… I love Jenna Ortega and that she’s playing Wednesday but one thing I hate about this show is that why did they make ALL the black people in this show terrible people?” another asked. “Like how did Netflix see nothing wrong with this? I hate Tim Burton’s racist self.”
The social media user was referring to actress Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday in the series, and reportedly considers herself “75 percent Mexican and 25 percent Puerto Rican.”
“im on ep 4 of 8 of netflix’s wednesday, idk i cant look past the fact that her 2 love interests are white (passing?) boys while her 2 bullies are black ? why was this a choice,” another Twitter user inquired.
“why is the the Black girl in Wednesday’s school an aggressive bully tho? hmmm tim burton is a known racist….. no surprises there…..” another said.
One social media user laughed at Netflix apparently “trying so hard to diversify” by “casting a black woman as the prettiest most popular girl in school in Wednesday,” only to offend the woke mob anyway.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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