- People on social media are accusing the upcoming “Cats” movie of whitewashing one of its lead actresses, the Kenyan-born Francesca Hayward, after the movie trailer was released on Thursday.
- Hayward’s character, Victoria, is a kitten with white fur, but many felt that the film was still whitewashing her portrayal.
- “You wouldn’t know the black lead was black unless you knew her already,” one disgruntled user wrote on Twitter.
- “Her character’s fur could hardly be whiter,” another said.
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People on social media are slamming the upcoming “Cats” movie for “whitewashing” one of its lead actresses.
The movie’s much-anticipated trailer was released Thursday and shows off an all-star cast, including Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, and Jennifer Hudson.
After the trailer ’s release, disgruntled fans took to Twitter to voice their concerns that Francesca Hayward, a Kenyan-born actress and dancer, wasn’t able to be recognized as a person of color.
so how come you can clearly see this is taylor swift/the entire bottom half of her face is visible, but you wouldn’t know the black lead was black unless you knew her already pic.twitter.com/q8ULl6U6CJ
— 🦝 (@tr4shbabey) July 19, 2019
On the other hand, look how they’ve transformed Francesca Hayward. Her character’s fur could hardly be whiter pic.twitter.com/X5XKe1cXGb
— W I L L B R O O K E R (@willbrooker) July 20, 2019
You know what the most impressive thing about the Cats trailer is? They damn cats. They covered in fur. But y'all still found a way to whitewash somebody. Yikes.
— Sͭlͪiͥmͨ ͨ (@CxnnxrJxy) July 20, 2019
And some expressed surprise and concern that Hayward's racial background seemed to be obscured.
she’s BLACK?!
— nerdy and ✨fabulous✨ (@HooiWanV) July 19, 2019
On one hand, it can be seen as positive to cast a mixed-race dancer in a leading ballet role. On the other, casting her as The White Cat seems to 'erase' her cultural heritage. They have cast Judi Dench as a traditionally male role so they're clearly flexible in terms of gender.
— W I L L B R O O K E R (@willbrooker) July 20, 2019
Others, however, felt that the concerns were a bit overblown.
It's hard for me to understand claims of whitewashing when you can really clearly see that's not the case here. Why whitewash exactly one person on the cast and nobody else?
If Victoria wasn't a white cat and they made her white then I'd understand completely! pic.twitter.com/4bKPGZzgmO
— doc (@docsquiddy) July 19, 2019
y’all realize she didn’t get whitewashed right? the characters name is Victoria the WHITE, the cat kinda has to be white. Other than snowflakes, the movie looks like shit. #CatsMovie
— spider-clout (@spider_clout) July 20, 2019
How about you read the book... the lead had white fur
— Kirptain Crack (@rsabernethy) July 20, 2019
Hayward, for her part, seems to be very excited about her role in the upcoming film. On Instagram, she's shared several clips of the trailer and behind-the-scenes footage.
"This is very surreal for someone who doesn't sing in public, to suddenly be singing with Jennifer Hudson," Hayward said in a recent behind-the-scenes clip she shared to her profile.
"Cats" premieres in December 2019. You can watch the trailer here.
- Read more:
- 5 things to know about ballerina Francesca Hayward, the Hollywood newcomer starring in 'Cats'
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