By Miguel Ángel Escudero
07 Apr 2024, 01:20 AM EDT
After it was revealed in previous days that the actress Francesca Amewudah-Rivers will play Juliet in the theatrical adaptation of the play “Romeo + Juliet”, together with the Englishman Tom Holland, large masses of criticism have hovered over the young performer.
In most comments, the “Bad Education” performer has been pointed out that her appearance is not “alienated” to the original description of the legendary work that has been adapted to theater, film and television.
Similarly, and under the same line of criticism, another large group of Internet users carried out a wave of racist insults, which also generated a large number of jokes towards the artist.
What did the Jamie Lloyd Company theater company say about the insults towards the actress?
Following the insults directed at Amewudah-Rivers, the Jamie Lloyd theater company, responsible for the production of the theatrical adaptation, released a statement in which it explicitly asked to end the derogatory comments towards Francesca.
We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that you are free to create work without online harassment. We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported.”
Likewise, and as part of its work principles, the company noted that there is no room for bullying and harassment: “Our rehearsal room is full of joy, compassion and kindness. We celebrate the extraordinary talent of our incredible collaborators. “The Romeo and Juliet community will continue to rehearse with generosity and love, and will focus on the creation of our production.”
So far, and after the variety of comments, the actress of Ghanaian origin has not issued any type of comment regarding this wave of criticism. Likewise, her co-star, Tom Holland, has not commented on the matter either.
“Romeo + Juliet” will premiere on May 11 at the Duke of York’s Theater in London and will remain in theaters until August 3.
The history repeats it self
The recent election of Francesca Amewudah-Rivers has once again raised controversy regarding the choice of actors of different races and factions in accordance with the conception of the original character. During 2023, actress Halle Bailey was severely criticized after giving life to Ariel in the live-action adaptation of the animated film “The Little Mermaid.”
The same situation was repeated after actress Leah Sava Jeffries was selected to play Annabeth in the series “Percy Jackson and the Time Gods” in 2023, a role that had been played by actress Alexandra Daddario.
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