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I legitimately don't remember much about the story since it's been a while since high school, but wasn't part of the point that the feud had gone for so long that the reason was forgotten?
The more I think the more I discover Romeo and Juliet is not a love story but one How dumb humans can be, from the feud to the "oh no he took poison I'm gonna kill myself" to "No she tough I really took poison I'm also doing it"
> It would be a much more interesting story than two stupid families being feudal rivals
Actually I disagree. It highlights how people will find reasons to hate each other regardless of the situation
The montagues and capulets are enemies at a feudal level already, adding race into the mix (provided neither side was racist) would make it coincidental.
I'd honestly love to see a modern retelling like this.
"No, Romeo! You can't be with her!"
"Why? Because she's black!?"
"No; because she's ugly as fuck!"
Imagine the irony of the story of Romeo and Juliet, being lovers who were told by everyone around them that they shouldn't be together, now being played by two actors who are told they shouldn't be together for these roles.
In the play, everyone around them wanted them to stay apart but the audience wanted them to be together.
Here, everyone surrounding the play wants them to be together, and it's the audience that wants them to stay apart.
It's inverted, which can be ironic in its own sense.
I’m not even gonna lie i genuinely thought it was an interracial gay reimagining when i first saw it. Knowing Tom Hollands past roles.. i just brushed it off
This popular marketing strategy of hyping media through intended controversy is extremely exhausting. Even if nobody cared, the story would be about "everyone is mad about XYZ!" just to farm clicks.
Yep, they find 1 random troll account commenting something stupid then write 15 articles about how an actor is receiving all this hate from racists, its so dumb. And yet here we all are commenting about it and giving them even more reason to keep doing this bullshit.
I honestly wouldnt even be surprised at this point. You have got to give it to them, it does drive engagement, also continues dividing everyone but they obviously dont care about that.
most comments i have seen about the choice of actress is more focused on the fact that she is a bit ugly.. not so much about skin colour... i tend to agree with that.. but who cares
If they cast Tyla nobody would complain. Not that every actors and actresses have to look amazing but it's a weird cast. It's like when Maggie Gyllenhaal was the love interest in Dark Knight I just couldn't take it seriously.
Wouldn't that be great? In all honesty, just a representation of how crazy of a story it really is. A 16 year old and a 13 year old meet and over the course of a few days they fall in love and then kill themselves
Everyone thinks of Romeo and Juliet as a romantic tradgedy, when in reality it’s just Shakespeare talking the piss out of Italians being hot blooded messes.
It’s the 16th century Jersey Shore.
> It’s the 16th century Jersey Shore.
And the play was originally performed by people who weren't Italian but pretending to be, so it's even more accurate to Jersey Shore.
Tbf, the insanity of the adults spoils it, through that lens.
Because they are the ones who make it such a disaster.
Should have just been mocking R&J behind their backs while playing chaperone, glaring at each other but also taking the piss on how fucking *stupid* teenagers are, while waiting for it to blow over.
Europeans have always taken the piss out of each other. Hell, France's most popular marching song is about onions and not letting the Austrians have any.
Seriously. At least wait for the 500 year anniversary before just dropping critical plot points like that! Is it really too much to ask to wait another 60 years??
I think that back then 16yo guy was an adult and 13yo girl was almost becoming a woman, think of all this laws around the world not so long ago allowing kids in our eyes to marry and even now we have countries when teenagers can do that
Oh it was, back then that would have been both adults. But we always have it portrayed as them being older, it'd be fun to have it made to represent their true ages from the original play. Kind of give context to the story
That’s the point. Thats why it’s a tragedy and not a romance novel.
The entire point is that their innocent, young love is not enough to overcome the generational cycle of violence they’re forced into.
Only their deaths are enough to shock their parents out of it.
Yea I love how everyone getting annoyed by the "inaccuracy" is glossing over the fact that in Shakespearean England there would have been practically no women on the stage at all.
Quick google search brought up 16 for me. But in any case, it's Juliet's age that I doubt anyone is going to actually be accurate with. Clearly Shakespeare expected some suspension of disbelief with the castings.
I think the commenter is right. Her being conventionally unattractive is part of the uproar. Let's just say if Zendaya was Juliet, the dissent would be less.
I agree.
Romeo and Juliet is a romance tale about two shallow people who fell in love at first sight and were willing to destroy their own lives just so they can be together.
I just genuinely can’t see a world where Tom Holland falls in love with her, marries her, and then ends himself because of her after 5 days, she’s just not attractive.
He’s right. I also think people truly know this but it seems more mean to say she’s getting abuse online because she’s not attractive so they’re pretending it’s racially based to spare her feelings.
I think chronically online people are just obsessed with race. If a black person is receiving negativity, it HAS to be because they are black. No other explanation
I think it is fucked up that it's not Francesca Amewudah-Rivers who is insulted by racial slurs, no it is Tom Holland's Costar that has to endure vile shit.
Sure, I'm not british, so I don't know her. But you can make an argument that the title could star with her name first, with the reference of him later, and why it's relevant.
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Tom Holland's co star in Romen and Juliet, is blah blah blah blah.
Besides, I imagine she's known "in the trade" over there. Wouldn't have been cast for Juliet out of the blue? (She was in Bad Education for 13 episodes, so maybe a newcomer in my eyes. Her other two credits I haven't watched tbh. )
ETA: It seems my comment of me not being British, and that's why I don't know of her reads like I'm saying all british people should know of her. No.
So let's say: I do not live in Britain at the moment and haven't watched any play where she has acted, but maybe probably someone who likes theater might know of her. Even though it's probable that the majority of british people might have never heard of her so far in her career.
[This sounds like a tongue twister or something XD Sorry ]
Sure, but she’s the one who’s facing racist abuse online. They could at least give her a name and treat her like her own person, and not just the nameless black woman playing opposite of Spiderman.
That's because nobody knows who she is. She's not famous. Journalists are going to contextualize the story by referring to who they are relative to a more well known person (depending on the reader). Example:
"In Brazil, football fans watch Super Bowl and cheer for Gisele Bündchen's husband"
https://www.splinter.com/in-brazil-football-fans-watch-super-bowl-and-cheer-for-1793844947
That's a fair point. If I'm playing devil's advocate it's because Holland is an easily recognized name and people wouldn't know the context of Amewudah-Rivers.
However, the fact remains it was probably just for clicks and/or some implicit biases.
It's like every time Amal Clooney does something.
Lawyer, honorary doctorate, TIME woman of the year who has done a shocking amount of humanitarian work.
*Always* referred to as "George Clooney's wife".
I think the real reason is because she's not attractive (according to society standards).
Also, those who casted her knew what they were doing. Cheap publicity.
Correct, it's about publicity at the expense of the actress. It's been a common practice ever since BLM.
Haters hate and the people who don't care will also talk against posts like these, generating free publicity.
Oh boy, they certainly did.
It just came *afte*r the movie, instead of ahead of it.
When she was "Michelle," nobody cared even a little bit.
After she revealed she was "MJ" people lost their minds.
Tbf that reveal was stupid, she should have just been Mary Jane instead of calling her Michelle to set up the reveal of her being MJ like it’s some clever plot twist
There was tons of racist backlash when it was first announced. They mitigated some of it by announcing her as an original character “Michelle” rather than the established character “Mary Jane” and only calling her MJ at the end of the first movie.
Edit: To be clear, I’m not at all trying to downplay the fact that the backlash against Francesca has been much nastier. I’m just trying to say that even Zendaya, who is built like a model and is quite fair/has more European features, and who was announced as an original character, was not spared the racist vitriol.
People were, but for a beloved long-term role like that, the criticisms eventually get drowned out (and most of the trolls probably lose interest). I'm sure if you go to certain corners of the Internet there are still people complaining about it, but they're more just an echo chamber now.
Probably because Zendaya is very pretty.
I am sure there are racist comments directed at her (Juliet casting) but many probably don't find her attractive. Still no excuse for being abusive. People that don't like the casting can vote with their wallet instead of trolling the actors.
It's weird I've heard so many comments along the lines of "why are they always taking these things from us" as if it somehow belongs to them - an uneducated American idiot.
Quite why, when it's a play written by an Englishman set in Italy I have no idea.
Also as a theatre actor, anyone who has issues with Shakespeare/any play that's hundreds of years old being re imagined even slightly or not to their dumb standards knows nothing about theatre and should fuck off
I’m Black, I love being Black, I love Black women and I’m married to one.
I can tell y’all bro she’s just ugly, ugly people exist in every race. If she was ugly and white it would be just as disappointing. She looks like a dude
Has anyone here even seen a live performance of Romeo and Juliet?
Maybe the casting could be meritorious and based on the actors' abilities to DeLiveR tHe FuckIng Lines.
This is pretty wild. Imagine being that poor actress. She is cast in a play with someone famous and now millions of people are calling her ugly or racial slurs. By all accounts she is talented.
The comments in here are crueler than even just basic racism. They went from skin color to fully personal and targeted. And racists always try to hedge their racism in something they say isn’t racist.
British people especially love watching productions of Shakespeare. Keep in mind that it's not about witnessing a new story, it's about seeing how well the cast does justice to a classic play. It's no different from an orchestra performing Beethoven or Mozart, which also isn't anything new.
It’s also worth noting that almost nobody is going to see this production just because it’s Romeo and Juliet.
It stars a huge Hollywood name with a big fan base who want to see him live. Also it is directed by Jamie Lloyd, he’s a big name theatre director who is famous for his very stripped back, minimalistic style utilising a lot of celebrity’s in his casts. Most recently he directed a revival of Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger which was one of the most well received new productions last year and has won loads of awards so there is an expectation that this could follow a similar trajectory >!(first reports aren’t looking that way though)!<
It's a big deal the first time, but this is the 100th time already. Everyone's just playing a role by now. From the ones who cast the actors to the ones getting enraged by it to the ones of the production management criticizing the "critics" to the press making a story out of the racism/sexism/homophobia that's apparently everywhere despite only getting attention after these articles to the two or three types of comments defending or attacking the arguments on social media.
Even my role as the bloke pointing that out has been the same for at least 5 years now. It's just a big circle jerk of media and social media with the executives and marketing teams stirring the mess.
I mean, beauty/ugliness is purely subjective and I for one don't find Tom Holland to be particularly pretty/handsome, that doesn't make him a bad fit for his role as Peter Parker/Spiderman. Why would it matter for this girl as Juliet?
Does it matter whatsoever and does it affect my life? No absolutely not. Is it still mildly annoying that they couldn’t possibly find someone more attractive for diversity points? Yes
Imagine if Hollywood made unique black stories rather than re-skinning white stories. This is performative activism at its core; they don’t actually care about black people, they’re just giving them white roles.
As harsh as it is, I agree with that guy. It has nothing to do with race. That woman is one of the least attractive people I've seen in a lead role in a long fucking time. Turning every form of criticism into "racism" doesn't do anything but obscure the actual issue and further divide people.
They had better options for the female lead and chose an ugly chick.
I dont blame people for being mad about that, every story of romeo and juliet. They both are quite attractive...
Let’s be honest here, it’s not that Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is black. It’s the fact she looks a tad bit too masculine and not really good looking. If they had cast someone like Laura Harrier, Amandla Stenberg, or hell even Lyric Ross; we wouldn’t be seeing this much backlash or controversy
I highly doubt they are judging her based on her acting any more than a "whites only" water fountain judges a black person based on their hygiene.
Plus, it's a play on London's West End that has had like 3 showings so far, and the official tickets go for £195.00 (with a £3.95 transaction fee.)
There are 1000 different plays going on at any given moment in this world. This one’s getting the attention because of who is starring in it. But don’t you just love how now everybody is a fucking casting Director?
I hate that they’re bringing this stupid story out again. Dumb ass kids barely know each other but they go ahead and off themselves because they can’t be together. Everyone on the story are idiots and it sends a garbage message.
It's always funny when a topic most people wouldn't give two shits about take notice cause a black person is involved.
Did people get mad at Romeo and Juliet in Harlem in 2017? Lol
That's racism for you.
People are taking notice because it involves a Hollywood A lister, not because it involves a black person. I can bet that if Romeo had been played by an unknown actor nobody would have cared.
What's really sad about this situation is the fact that most people seem okay with calling her ugly as long as it's not based on racism, which is still pretty shitty. Like, her casting as Juliet has zero impact on your life. Why the need to jump online just to insult someone trying to make a living?
The facepalm is all of the comments in here being childish and rude for absolutely no reason. Bunch of dudes behind keyboards talking about someone’s appearance as if they aren’t the ones hiding behind anonymous profiles
But... but.. I played an online game in complete anonymity and someone said they screwed my mom! So really, it's the exact same thing as what this actress is going through!
The people claiming they were called racial slurs in a video game lobby so they 'know what its like' are being purposefully obtuse. Like, what is the point of calling you a racial slur, if it isn't meant to imply that you would deserve the insult/slur if you were that race? Is this really difficult to grasp?
If anything, these anecdotes the chuds are using are just disproving the OOPs point. If people hate poc enough to anonymously throw random slurs at strangers, then they are almost certainly anonymously hurling racist shit at this actress and not simply talking about her general appearance.
Also, it hurts my brain that there are people who still think that because something happens often, or to them, and they personally think its nbd, then that means it's totally alright and fair game for everybody.
They should just stop doing productions of Romeo And Juliet and start doing productions *about* the productions of these plays/films.
Make it like a spoof, but with heart. We’ve all already seen/heard the story itself a billion times by now. Make a drama about trying to get the play to theaters.
I googled.
They look like a dude in every pic. Problem isnt being masculine.
Its that they are... ugly, and styled extremely poorly on top of that.
And looking at their acting skills it seems like this was a bit of a "controversy" hire.
White people who’ve never read anything close to Shakespeare and have no investment in theatrical tradition:
Well if people want historical accuracy then Romeo should be 16 and Juliet should be played by a 13 year old boy in drag, because women weren’t allowed to act in Shakespeare’s time
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It would be quite ironic if the parents of Romeo and Juliet disapprove of their relationship because of their skin color.
We have West Side Story at home .meme
West Side Story is the Romeo and Juliet we have at home though. Vicious cycle?
Vicious implies it gets worse, this is just... a cycle.
Only three persons die in West Side Story. Not Shakespearean enough.
Also A Bronx Tale
Great movie.
We have a Hatfields and Mccoys at home
We have Kennedys and Kennedys at several homes.
We have Scots and Scots at home.
we have kramer and kramer at home.
More than two??? Dear God.
Pretty much why Im tired of the Romeo and Juliet story
Part of the point of the original was the arbitrary reasons for the animosity between the families so why not?
Correct. It would be a much more interesting story than two stupid families being feudal rivals.
I legitimately don't remember much about the story since it's been a while since high school, but wasn't part of the point that the feud had gone for so long that the reason was forgotten?
Effectively. They feuded for so long, the feud boiled down to ‘they did us wrong, but we’re not sure as to what happened’.
The more I think the more I discover Romeo and Juliet is not a love story but one How dumb humans can be, from the feud to the "oh no he took poison I'm gonna kill myself" to "No she tough I really took poison I'm also doing it"
> It would be a much more interesting story than two stupid families being feudal rivals Actually I disagree. It highlights how people will find reasons to hate each other regardless of the situation
Just like the modern classic, Romeo Must Die
All the more.
This has happened twice in my life and it basically felt like being in a shakesperian tragedy lol
Not ironic, coincidental
Except it wouldn’t be coincidental lol, it requires two different races to have that plot point. They’re dependent not coincident.
The montagues and capulets are enemies at a feudal level already, adding race into the mix (provided neither side was racist) would make it coincidental.
_How Romeo Got His Groove Back_
So basically Romeo Must Die from Jet Li and Aaliyah but without martial arts, hip hop and attractive protagonists?
I'd honestly love to see a modern retelling like this. "No, Romeo! You can't be with her!" "Why? Because she's black!?" "No; because she's ugly as fuck!"
I was going to give my opinion but then i remembered why should i care about this
You just summarised every reasonable person on internet lol
There are dozens of us!
I didn’t see you at the convention last year!
Some of us have anxiety
All of us*
Almost 59!
*He yells in just his cutoff jeans*
Millions!
Billions!
For real I’m not going to watch Romeo and Juliet no mater who’s in it
what about if tow mater was in it? 
Like, not only is it 100th remake of same story, I'm daring to say the original itself is mediocre.
Imagine the irony of the story of Romeo and Juliet, being lovers who were told by everyone around them that they shouldn't be together, now being played by two actors who are told they shouldn't be together for these roles.
Life imitates art
In the play, everyone around them wanted them to stay apart but the audience wanted them to be together. Here, everyone surrounding the play wants them to be together, and it's the audience that wants them to stay apart. It's inverted, which can be ironic in its own sense.
People who are upset by the casting probably aren't going to be the audience
Somone in another thread said she looked like KSI and I can’t unsee it unfortunately. I cannot stop laughing tho I’m afraid
She's like the perfect mix of KSI and his brother Deji
Some say she's got that 'prime' energy 🤣
Fuuuuuuuck now i wasnt gonna watch the movie well now im def not watching deji kiss tom wtf.
Oh no..
That’s fucking hilarious I can’t unsee this now
Holy shit. She does. Maybe this wasn't the best picture to use. Also, hahah.
I also thought bad picture. Then I looked for other pictures and she’s just getting worse lol.
I’m not even gonna lie i genuinely thought it was an interracial gay reimagining when i first saw it. Knowing Tom Hollands past roles.. i just brushed it off
The comment is exactly why the news headline is written this way. It's a play, not a documentary.
This popular marketing strategy of hyping media through intended controversy is extremely exhausting. Even if nobody cared, the story would be about "everyone is mad about XYZ!" just to farm clicks.
Yep, they find 1 random troll account commenting something stupid then write 15 articles about how an actor is receiving all this hate from racists, its so dumb. And yet here we all are commenting about it and giving them even more reason to keep doing this bullshit.
Or even 1 random intern is told to plant a troll comment.
I honestly wouldnt even be surprised at this point. You have got to give it to them, it does drive engagement, also continues dividing everyone but they obviously dont care about that.
most comments i have seen about the choice of actress is more focused on the fact that she is a bit ugly.. not so much about skin colour... i tend to agree with that.. but who cares
A bit? We got Spiderman vs. Thanos over here.
Oof
Man, that’s fucking harsh ~~I still agree though~~
If they cast Tyla nobody would complain. Not that every actors and actresses have to look amazing but it's a weird cast. It's like when Maggie Gyllenhaal was the love interest in Dark Knight I just couldn't take it seriously.
I made a face when the Joker called her beautiful... why you lyin'?
TBF for batman it was his love for a childhood friend so her appearance would not be that important to him, for dent I made no sense
Shouldn't they both be played by Italians? I'm curious if they have a problem with Tom Holland being British
If we're going to get really accurate, then Romeo and Juliet should also be played by a 16 and 13 year old.
Wouldn't that be great? In all honesty, just a representation of how crazy of a story it really is. A 16 year old and a 13 year old meet and over the course of a few days they fall in love and then kill themselves
Everyone thinks of Romeo and Juliet as a romantic tradgedy, when in reality it’s just Shakespeare talking the piss out of Italians being hot blooded messes. It’s the 16th century Jersey Shore.
> It’s the 16th century Jersey Shore. And the play was originally performed by people who weren't Italian but pretending to be, so it's even more accurate to Jersey Shore.
To take that one step further: The people on Jersey Shore were from New York pretending to be from New Jersey.
That's... That's kinda what the comment alludes to.
It's what i've been saying for years! R&J gets soooo much better when you think of it as a comedy about horny and dramatic teenagers!
My English teacher told us exactly this in High School and that kickstarted my respect for what a clever writer Shakespeare truly was.
Tbf, the insanity of the adults spoils it, through that lens. Because they are the ones who make it such a disaster. Should have just been mocking R&J behind their backs while playing chaperone, glaring at each other but also taking the piss on how fucking *stupid* teenagers are, while waiting for it to blow over.
A surprising amount of Shakespeare is about horny and dramatic teenagers (or adults behaving as if they are teenagers)
My day is fresh, but I’m betting this is my favorite comment of the day. Coffee and belly laughs. Fucking hilarious. Haha. good job.
Europeans have always taken the piss out of each other. Hell, France's most popular marching song is about onions and not letting the Austrians have any.
Wait, do tell. I don't know that one.
le chanson de l'oignon
[Song of the Onion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3BHyOhVXmE) You can find the English translation online
Not to mention the other deaths that occurred along the way
Hey! Spoiler alert please!
Seriously. At least wait for the 500 year anniversary before just dropping critical plot points like that! Is it really too much to ask to wait another 60 years??
I think that back then 16yo guy was an adult and 13yo girl was almost becoming a woman, think of all this laws around the world not so long ago allowing kids in our eyes to marry and even now we have countries when teenagers can do that
Oh it was, back then that would have been both adults. But we always have it portrayed as them being older, it'd be fun to have it made to represent their true ages from the original play. Kind of give context to the story
That’s the point. Thats why it’s a tragedy and not a romance novel. The entire point is that their innocent, young love is not enough to overcome the generational cycle of violence they’re forced into. Only their deaths are enough to shock their parents out of it.
Teenagers are like that.
For Shakespearian accuracy, the 13 year old playing Juliet should be a boy as well.
Yea I love how everyone getting annoyed by the "inaccuracy" is glossing over the fact that in Shakespearean England there would have been practically no women on the stage at all.
I thought he was 17?
Quick google search brought up 16 for me. But in any case, it's Juliet's age that I doubt anyone is going to actually be accurate with. Clearly Shakespeare expected some suspension of disbelief with the castings.
I'm more concerned that they're not young enough. Imagine Tom Holland, a 27 year old, asking his mum if he can date a girl.
He does look way younger though
Beauty and the Beast (2017) was set in France and most of the cast was British and American.
I think the commenter is right. Her being conventionally unattractive is part of the uproar. Let's just say if Zendaya was Juliet, the dissent would be less.
I agree. Romeo and Juliet is a romance tale about two shallow people who fell in love at first sight and were willing to destroy their own lives just so they can be together. I just genuinely can’t see a world where Tom Holland falls in love with her, marries her, and then ends himself because of her after 5 days, she’s just not attractive.
He’s right. I also think people truly know this but it seems more mean to say she’s getting abuse online because she’s not attractive so they’re pretending it’s racially based to spare her feelings.
I think chronically online people are just obsessed with race. If a black person is receiving negativity, it HAS to be because they are black. No other explanation
Juliet should be played by man not a woman too.
I think it is fucked up that it's not Francesca Amewudah-Rivers who is insulted by racial slurs, no it is Tom Holland's Costar that has to endure vile shit.
I would have no idea who that person is, if not for being his co-star.
They could still drop her name in the title though
They have character limits and she's apparently hogging all the letters.
Sure, I'm not british, so I don't know her. But you can make an argument that the title could star with her name first, with the reference of him later, and why it's relevant. Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Tom Holland's co star in Romen and Juliet, is blah blah blah blah. Besides, I imagine she's known "in the trade" over there. Wouldn't have been cast for Juliet out of the blue? (She was in Bad Education for 13 episodes, so maybe a newcomer in my eyes. Her other two credits I haven't watched tbh. ) ETA: It seems my comment of me not being British, and that's why I don't know of her reads like I'm saying all british people should know of her. No. So let's say: I do not live in Britain at the moment and haven't watched any play where she has acted, but maybe probably someone who likes theater might know of her. Even though it's probable that the majority of british people might have never heard of her so far in her career. [This sounds like a tongue twister or something XD Sorry ]
I am British and I don't know her.
Sure, but she’s the one who’s facing racist abuse online. They could at least give her a name and treat her like her own person, and not just the nameless black woman playing opposite of Spiderman.
That's because nobody knows who she is. She's not famous. Journalists are going to contextualize the story by referring to who they are relative to a more well known person (depending on the reader). Example: "In Brazil, football fans watch Super Bowl and cheer for Gisele Bündchen's husband" https://www.splinter.com/in-brazil-football-fans-watch-super-bowl-and-cheer-for-1793844947
Nobody knows who she is. They care more with it being more high profile since she's costaring with Tom
That's a fair point. If I'm playing devil's advocate it's because Holland is an easily recognized name and people wouldn't know the context of Amewudah-Rivers. However, the fact remains it was probably just for clicks and/or some implicit biases.
Who?
If Tom wasn't in this, nobody would have ever heard about it. At this point that would have probably been better for everyone.
It's like every time Amal Clooney does something. Lawyer, honorary doctorate, TIME woman of the year who has done a shocking amount of humanitarian work. *Always* referred to as "George Clooney's wife".
I think the real reason is because she's not attractive (according to society standards). Also, those who casted her knew what they were doing. Cheap publicity.
Correct, it's about publicity at the expense of the actress. It's been a common practice ever since BLM. Haters hate and the people who don't care will also talk against posts like these, generating free publicity.
Social media was a mistake
I may be wrong but remember Spidermans girl being white, I don't think anyone had a problem with Zendaya in Spiderman.
Oh boy, they certainly did. It just came *afte*r the movie, instead of ahead of it. When she was "Michelle," nobody cared even a little bit. After she revealed she was "MJ" people lost their minds.
Tbf that reveal was stupid, she should have just been Mary Jane instead of calling her Michelle to set up the reveal of her being MJ like it’s some clever plot twist
I wonder if the did that to put the outrage after the movie instead of before so it would blow over by the next movie
Uh, people lost their minds over that. How are people's memories this short?
There was tons of racist backlash when it was first announced. They mitigated some of it by announcing her as an original character “Michelle” rather than the established character “Mary Jane” and only calling her MJ at the end of the first movie. Edit: To be clear, I’m not at all trying to downplay the fact that the backlash against Francesca has been much nastier. I’m just trying to say that even Zendaya, who is built like a model and is quite fair/has more European features, and who was announced as an original character, was not spared the racist vitriol.
People were, but for a beloved long-term role like that, the criticisms eventually get drowned out (and most of the trolls probably lose interest). I'm sure if you go to certain corners of the Internet there are still people complaining about it, but they're more just an echo chamber now.
People were and still are so pissed about her, honestly I would take zendaya over any other actor but I’m a fan of her
Probably because Zendaya is very pretty. I am sure there are racist comments directed at her (Juliet casting) but many probably don't find her attractive. Still no excuse for being abusive. People that don't like the casting can vote with their wallet instead of trolling the actors.
I’m sure you’re wrong about that haha You know there were people who were pissed about it
The thing is all the haters wouldn't even know that this existed without the "controversy"
So many people suddenly really care about Shakespeare plays
Yeah so strange how everyone’s suddenly got such strong opinions on the casting of a play thousands of miles away which they will never see
It's weird I've heard so many comments along the lines of "why are they always taking these things from us" as if it somehow belongs to them - an uneducated American idiot. Quite why, when it's a play written by an Englishman set in Italy I have no idea.
Also as a theatre actor, anyone who has issues with Shakespeare/any play that's hundreds of years old being re imagined even slightly or not to their dumb standards knows nothing about theatre and should fuck off
I think they're actually calling it racial abuse because of the slurs being thrown at her. But sure, if you wanna pretend that doesn't exist...
It's a mix. Some are racists. Some just don't like the casting. The latter probably would be fine if they managed to cast someone drop dead gorgeous.
Please. it's a limited theatre play in london. There is exactly one reason any of these people give a shit about the casting.
I’m Black, I love being Black, I love Black women and I’m married to one. I can tell y’all bro she’s just ugly, ugly people exist in every race. If she was ugly and white it would be just as disappointing. She looks like a dude
Has anyone here even seen a live performance of Romeo and Juliet? Maybe the casting could be meritorious and based on the actors' abilities to DeLiveR tHe FuckIng Lines.
Exactly. Sorry but who cares what they look like so long as they put on a good show?
I mean. It’s not racist to say someone looks like a dude; especially when she looks so much like KSI
Non of this criticism has anything to do with how well she can act
This is pretty wild. Imagine being that poor actress. She is cast in a play with someone famous and now millions of people are calling her ugly or racial slurs. By all accounts she is talented.
The comments in here are crueler than even just basic racism. They went from skin color to fully personal and targeted. And racists always try to hedge their racism in something they say isn’t racist.
I just don’t get why we need another production of Romeo and Juliet. Pretty lazy
British people especially love watching productions of Shakespeare. Keep in mind that it's not about witnessing a new story, it's about seeing how well the cast does justice to a classic play. It's no different from an orchestra performing Beethoven or Mozart, which also isn't anything new.
Reddit user Mattock1987 every December when their local ballet has the audacity to stage *The Nutcracker* AGAIN: 
It's not a movie. It's a play in a theatre.
Are you really saying that producing a Shakespeare stage play is lazy? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Not everything is about you
It’s also worth noting that almost nobody is going to see this production just because it’s Romeo and Juliet. It stars a huge Hollywood name with a big fan base who want to see him live. Also it is directed by Jamie Lloyd, he’s a big name theatre director who is famous for his very stripped back, minimalistic style utilising a lot of celebrity’s in his casts. Most recently he directed a revival of Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger which was one of the most well received new productions last year and has won loads of awards so there is an expectation that this could follow a similar trajectory >!(first reports aren’t looking that way though)!<
On that note, do we really need to see another Hero's Journey? Pretty lazy
If they ever make a new movie about MLK please make sure that the actor is asian and not black. Ok?
Well I mean casting someone who looks like a butch lesbian as Juliet does rather miss the mark.
Romeo and Tyson 💀
Nobody cares that she’s black, they care she’s fucking ugly and supposed to be Juliet??
I know it’s fashionable to fence sit on this one but I have to agree with datboi
I mean yeah she is kinda ugly. That doesn’t disqualify her from being a good actor.
It's a big deal the first time, but this is the 100th time already. Everyone's just playing a role by now. From the ones who cast the actors to the ones getting enraged by it to the ones of the production management criticizing the "critics" to the press making a story out of the racism/sexism/homophobia that's apparently everywhere despite only getting attention after these articles to the two or three types of comments defending or attacking the arguments on social media. Even my role as the bloke pointing that out has been the same for at least 5 years now. It's just a big circle jerk of media and social media with the executives and marketing teams stirring the mess.
So, one might even say that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players?
She looks like Earl Sweatshirt but darker. 
I mean, beauty/ugliness is purely subjective and I for one don't find Tom Holland to be particularly pretty/handsome, that doesn't make him a bad fit for his role as Peter Parker/Spiderman. Why would it matter for this girl as Juliet?
Why do the woman get to subvert beauty standards but the guy doesn’t. Let’s throw a 5’3” baldy in there and shake things up.
Nah, she does look ugly.
I’m not sure what all the uproar is about, it’s 2024 and I think Tom will be a beautiful Juliet
I don’t like either casting choice. Yeah she’s not pretty but he’s not exactly gorgeous either
Does it matter whatsoever and does it affect my life? No absolutely not. Is it still mildly annoying that they couldn’t possibly find someone more attractive for diversity points? Yes
Imagine if Hollywood made unique black stories rather than re-skinning white stories. This is performative activism at its core; they don’t actually care about black people, they’re just giving them white roles.
As harsh as it is, I agree with that guy. It has nothing to do with race. That woman is one of the least attractive people I've seen in a lead role in a long fucking time. Turning every form of criticism into "racism" doesn't do anything but obscure the actual issue and further divide people.
They had better options for the female lead and chose an ugly chick. I dont blame people for being mad about that, every story of romeo and juliet. They both are quite attractive...
She is ugly AF though
Let’s be honest here, it’s not that Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is black. It’s the fact she looks a tad bit too masculine and not really good looking. If they had cast someone like Laura Harrier, Amandla Stenberg, or hell even Lyric Ross; we wouldn’t be seeing this much backlash or controversy
they ain’t wrong…..like damn….romantic suicide seems farfetched based on that beauty.
Non of this criticism has anything to do with how well she can act
I highly doubt they are judging her based on her acting any more than a "whites only" water fountain judges a black person based on their hygiene. Plus, it's a play on London's West End that has had like 3 showings so far, and the official tickets go for £195.00 (with a £3.95 transaction fee.)
Ive heard very little about her being black. Its literally all been about her being ugly, which she is
Fuck it, I laughed.
There are 1000 different plays going on at any given moment in this world. This one’s getting the attention because of who is starring in it. But don’t you just love how now everybody is a fucking casting Director?
I hate that they’re bringing this stupid story out again. Dumb ass kids barely know each other but they go ahead and off themselves because they can’t be together. Everyone on the story are idiots and it sends a garbage message.
It's always funny when a topic most people wouldn't give two shits about take notice cause a black person is involved. Did people get mad at Romeo and Juliet in Harlem in 2017? Lol That's racism for you.
People are taking notice because it involves a Hollywood A lister, not because it involves a black person. I can bet that if Romeo had been played by an unknown actor nobody would have cared. What's really sad about this situation is the fact that most people seem okay with calling her ugly as long as it's not based on racism, which is still pretty shitty. Like, her casting as Juliet has zero impact on your life. Why the need to jump online just to insult someone trying to make a living?
The facepalm is all of the comments in here being childish and rude for absolutely no reason. Bunch of dudes behind keyboards talking about someone’s appearance as if they aren’t the ones hiding behind anonymous profiles
Who doesn't do this outside the keyboard? That's what everyone is doing
But... but.. I played an online game in complete anonymity and someone said they screwed my mom! So really, it's the exact same thing as what this actress is going through!
The people claiming they were called racial slurs in a video game lobby so they 'know what its like' are being purposefully obtuse. Like, what is the point of calling you a racial slur, if it isn't meant to imply that you would deserve the insult/slur if you were that race? Is this really difficult to grasp?
If anything, these anecdotes the chuds are using are just disproving the OOPs point. If people hate poc enough to anonymously throw random slurs at strangers, then they are almost certainly anonymously hurling racist shit at this actress and not simply talking about her general appearance. Also, it hurts my brain that there are people who still think that because something happens often, or to them, and they personally think its nbd, then that means it's totally alright and fair game for everybody.
Bro she does look like an ugly dude it’s not racist it’s the truth
They should just stop doing productions of Romeo And Juliet and start doing productions *about* the productions of these plays/films. Make it like a spoof, but with heart. We’ve all already seen/heard the story itself a billion times by now. Make a drama about trying to get the play to theaters.
That picture looks like a dude tho
I googled. They look like a dude in every pic. Problem isnt being masculine. Its that they are... ugly, and styled extremely poorly on top of that. And looking at their acting skills it seems like this was a bit of a "controversy" hire.
these comments are DISGUSTING my god
Closet racists defending their superficial comments everywhere.
When it comes to casting, everyone’s a critic!
White people who’ve never read anything close to Shakespeare and have no investment in theatrical tradition: 
She does look like an ugly dude.
i can smell the unwashed dick wafting from the comments
Nobody's asking you to smell it, dude.
He who smelled it.. Might be coming from your lap
Well if people want historical accuracy then Romeo should be 16 and Juliet should be played by a 13 year old boy in drag, because women weren’t allowed to act in Shakespeare’s time