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13 Times TV Shows And Movies Didn’t Cast Someone White In A Role And White People Got Angry For Literally No Good Reason

Hollywood loves to play fast and loose with casting choices, even when working with a remake of a film or an adaptation of a book. They change ages, hair color, and even gender.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

In the titular role, the filmmakers cast R&B singer (and one-half of duo Chloe x Halle) Halle Bailey as Ariel. This prompted backlash from racist fans, who claimed Ariel was meant to be white — as she was in the animated film. The hashtag “#NotMyAriel” even began trending, with fans of the animated film taking issue with Bailey’s appearance in the recently released teaser.

Bailey also thought about what seeing a Black girl as Ariel would’ve meant for her growing up: “What that would have done for me, how that would have changed my confidence, my belief in myself, everything. Things that seem so small to everyone else, it’s so big to us.”

Paul Archuleta / FilmMagic via Getty Images

2. Rachel Zegler as Snow White in 2024’s Snow White.

The Walt Disney Co. via Getty Images

There was similar backlash over the casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White in the upcoming live-action film. Critics thought Zegler, a Colombian actor, was not right for the role. Despite her proven singing and acting abilities, people felt that a character with “skin as white as snow” should be played by a white actor.

She later said in an interview with Andrew Garfield for Variety, “Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me. You don’t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent. Even though Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries.”

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Zegler continued, “When it was announced, it was a huge thing that was trending on Twitter for days because all of the people were angry.” Garfield replied, “Ah, those people. The people that we need to educate. The people that we need to love into awareness,” which Zegler agreed with.

Variety

3. Zendaya as MJ in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming (and subsequent Spider-Man films).

Marvel / Sony

The character was white in the comics and had previously been played by Kirsten Dunst. So when Zendaya, a biracial woman, was cast as MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming, some fans were angry. Zendaya responded to this criticism, saying, “People are going to react over anything. But nothing [about who she is playing] is fact. It’s like, you guys are just making shit up at this point and then reacting to it.”

Columbia / Courtesy Everett Collection

She continued, “Of course there’s going to be outrage over that because for some reason, people just aren’t ready. I’m like, ‘I don’t know what America you live in, but from what I see when I walk outside my streets of New York right now, I see lots of persity and I see the real world and it’s beautiful, and that’s what should be reflected, and that’s what is reflected, so you’re just going to have to get over it.’”

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Spider-Man creator Stan Lee also supported the casting. Lee said, “If she is as good an actress as I hear she is, I think it’ll be absolutely wonderful,” and pointed out that “in the Daredevil movie, the Kingpin — who had been white in the comics — he was a Black man playing the role, and he played it beautifully.”

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4. Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in 2015’s Fantastic Four.

Ben Rothstein / 20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

The character was white in the comics and had previously been played by Chris Evans — so when Michael B. Jordan, a Black man, was cast in the role, some people were angry.

20th Century Fox Film / Courtesy Everett Collection

Director Josh Trank even got death threats over the casting choice. “I was getting threats on IMDb message boards saying they were going to shoot me,” he told Polygon. “I was so f—— paranoid during that shoot.”

Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

Jordan himself responded to the criticism, saying, “I know I can’t ask the audience to forget 50 years of comic books. But the world is a little more perse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961. Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, ‘You’re good. I’m okay with this,’ who am I to go against that?”

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He continued, “Maybe, if I set an example, Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other prominent roles, and maybe we can reach the people who are stuck in the mindset that ‘it has to be true to the comic book.’ Or maybe we have to reach past them.”

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5. Idris Elba as Heimdall in 2011’s Thor (and its sequels).

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

When Idris Elba, a Black actor, was cast as a Norse god, some fans were upset and felt it was unrealistic. One white supremacist group even urged others to boycott the film.

Marvel

Elba responded to the criticism, saying, “We have a man [Thor] who has a flying hammer and wears horns on his head. And yet me being an actor of African descent playing a Norse god is unbelievable? I mean, Cleopatra was played by Elizabeth Taylor, and Gandhi was played by Ben Kingsley.”

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6. Lashana Lynch as Nomi (the next 007) in No Time to Die.

Nicola Dove / MGM / Danjaq / Courtesy Everett Collection

Lashana Lynch suffered plenty of backlash, especially because not only is she Black, but she’s also a woman — and people picture 007 as a white man after seeing so many white men as 007, even though those 007s were James Bond, while she is a new character.

Nicola Dove / MGM / © Danjaq / Courtesy Everett Collection

Lynch replied to the backlash, saying, “White patriarchy will always have something to say when it comes to things like that. But the magnitude of it was ridiculous.” She said that while her casting was “revolutionary” and big for her community, she isn’t the first Black character in the Bond franchise, and the world at large needs to stop acting “like it’s this New Age thing, like Black people have just arrived on the planet.”

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7. Lucy Liu as Joan Watson in Elementary (2012–19).

Derek Storm / Everett Collection

Lucy Liu’s casting prompted backlash, since people were used to seeing Sherlock’s companion as the white male John Watson — like in the recent Sherlock Holmes film series (2009–11) and the series Sherlock (2010–17), which aired at the same time.

Colin Hutton / BBC / Courtesy Everett Collection

Liu responded to this backlash, saying, “For me it’s about pushing forward, playing a role that has been historically a male figure and also something that is obviously lore because it is very English-based. I think for someone who is an Asian American actress playing Watson, that’s something I always like to do — push the envelope.””

The Walt Disney Co. via Getty Images

The same article asks if Liu’s casting is just “a desperate headline grabber,” highlighting just how hostile some people were to Liu’s casting. But as Liu also said, “That’s how you keep things current.”

“If you look at the percentage of ethnicities and the percentage of women on television now, it’s such a different time,” she pointed out. “That’s how you keep things current. You update and you change them accordingly.”

Irvin Rivera / Getty Images for IMDb

8. Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth in 2023’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Image Group La / The Walt Disney Co. via Getty Images

The upcoming Percy Jackson series has already remedied the biggest issue in the films, which was that the characters were aged up, and then the actors were even older than their characters. In the series, the actors are 12 (playing 12), 13 (playing 12), and 16 (playing 32, which is equivalent to 16 for his character’s species).

Image Group La / The Walt Disney Co. via Getty Images

But there are still complaints over the casting — mostly to do with Leah. In the novel, Annabeth is described as tan with long, curly blonde hair. The backlash got so bad that series creator Rick Riordan had to issue a statement condemning the comments. “Whatever else you take from this post, we should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong,” he wrote in a blog post.

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“As strong as Leah is, as much as we have discussed the potential for this kind of reaction and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative comments she has received online are out of line. They need to stop. Now.”

Corey Nickols / Getty Images for IMDb

He continued, “I have been clear, as the author, that I was looking for the best actors to inhabit and bring to life the personalities of these characters, and that physical appearance was secondary for me. We did that. We took a year to do this process thoroughly and find the best of the best. This trio is the best. Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase.”

Dumezweni’s casting as Hermione prompted lots of backlash. People were upset because their idea of the character was white — like Emma Watson in the films — despite the fact that Hermione’s race is never mentioned in the Harry Potter books.

J.K.R. / Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Dumezweni spoke of the bullying: “It’s ignorance,” she said. “It drives me crazy. It’s a limitation. […] My name is being tagged into stuff that’s not nice.” Dumezweni was clearly the right choice for the part. She won a Laurence Olivier Award and was nominated for a Tony for the role when it transferred to Broadway.

Walter Mcbride / WireImage via Getty Images

10. Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie in 2014’s Annie.

Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

A lot of hate was directed at then–11-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis — exclusively because she is Black and was playing a traditionally white role. There were a large number of tweets denouncing her casting, as well as (to a lesser degree) Jamie Foxx’s.

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Wallis did not reply to the criticism, but some came to her defense on social media, calling BS on the people calling for “authenticity” in the Annie casting, and saying that Annie’s appearance isn’t important to the story.

Barry Wetcher/Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

11. All Black characters in The Rings of Power (2022–), but most prominently Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Sophia Nomvete as Disa, and Lenny Henry as in Sadoc Burrows.

Amazon

When The Rings of Power was released, some people were angry that there were nonwhite characters in the series, claiming the series is a misrepresentation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. While there is no indication that nonwhite people don’t exist in Middle-earth, people may have assumed so after the original trilogy of films featured only white characters.

New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

The series released a statement, saying, “BIPOC belong in Middle-earth and they are here to stay.” The main cast members of the original trilogy also expressed their support, donning shirts that said, “You are all welcome here.”

Some fans were angry at his casting, as the Velaryons are canonically white/pale in Fire & Blood, the story from which House of the Dragon was adapted. This led to a lot of racist hate directed toward Toussaint online. “I kind of thought, Oh, I get it. When we were criminals and pirates and slaves in the other show, you were OK with that,” Toussaint said, pointing out that there were Black characters in Game of Thrones — but they were lower class. “But as this guy is the richest [character] in the show and he’s a nobleman, now you have a problem with it,” he added.

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“They are happy with a dragon flying. They’re happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes, but a rich Black guy? That’s beyond the pale,” he also said. But ultimately, he said, “There are people outside who find it a little hard to stomach that someone who looks like me would play this part. But that’s an issue they have to deal with and I don’t have to.”

Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

13. And finally, let’s end on one that’s particularly ridiculous: Amandla Stenberg as Rue in 2012’s The Hunger Games.

Lionsgate

The role was literally specified to be Black in the book, but people were still angry because they had been picturing a white girl.* “While it was hurtful when I was 12, it wasn’t shocking,” Stenberg said of the backlash, as she was already aware “that there was resistance to having Black girls in films, and that Black women are dehumanized and their lives are seen as less valuable than white lives.”

Steve Granitz / WireImage via Getty Images

*Notably, Katniss’s character had already been whitewashed when white actor Jennifer Lawrence was cast as the olive-skinned heroine.

“The irony of the whole situation was that Rue was one of the only characters I could find in the content I loved that was literally written as Black,” she continued.

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

What would you say to racist trolls who claim the above actors aren’t right for their roles? What does it mean to you to have these castings? Let us know in the comments below!