Thousands of people have signed a petition protesting Rooney Mara’s casting as Tiger Lily in a forthcoming “Peter Pan” remake, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Warner Bros. recently announced that Mara will play the Native American princess Tiger Lily in “Pan,” a retelling of the classic J.M. Barrie story.
Now, nearly 5,000 people have signed a Care 2 petition protesting the studio’s decision to cast a white actress in the role.
The petition reads:
Warner Bros. just announced Rooney Mara has been chosen to play the role of Tiger Lily, a Native American, in a Peter Pan adaptation. A statement by the studio was unapologetic, and said a black actress and a French actress were first considered for the role. This casting choice is particularly shameful for a children’s movie. Telling children their role models must all be white is unacceptable.
The studio statement mentioned, “The world being created is multi-racial/international – and a very different character than previously imagined.” Yet it stars Mara and two white guys – Hugh Jackman and Garrett Hedlund. Not so multi-racial after all, Warner Bros.
Tell Warner Bros. to stop casting white actors to play characters originally written as people of color!
However, Warner Bros. told THR that it never sent an “unapologetic” statement and that those words had been lifted from a news article describing the remake.
As of Wednesday, the petition has nearly reached its goal of 5,000 signatures, but it is unclear exactly what will happen once 5,000 people sign it.