But this time, John Leguizamo, a well-known Colombian actor, resorted to social media to express his worries. He addressed a topic that has been on many of our minds on August 5. “How is this kind of casting still taking place?” “How is this still going on?” asked Leguizamo. “How does Hollywood not only ignore us but also appropriate our stories? No more appropriation from streamers and Hollywood! Boycott! It’s fucked up!” On his Instagram post, he said, “Plus extremely difficult story to tell without aggrandizement, which would b terrible!” “I have no issue with Franco, but he is not Latino”.
Many people were surprised by Franco’s casting. Particularly when it comes to significant events in Latino history that will now be told by a white, American face, Hollywood seems to be unwilling to choose among the numerous Latinos who are prepared to work on this next film. James Franco, in addition to his abilities and charisma, bears a striking physical resemblance to Fidel Castro, according to Castro’s daughter, Alina Fernández. As the production features “nearly totally Latino, both in front of and behind the camera,” she was reportedly “proud” of it.
Ana Navarro, a political commentator who is Nicaraguan-American and resides in Florida, responded to Leguizamo’s post with the following statement: “I’d like to think no Latino actor worth their salt would sign up to play and aggrandize a murderous dictator who terrorized the people of Cuba for 60 years. I join you in the boycott for the two explanations you provided.”
The reasons behind Leguizamo’s call for a boycott of Franco as an actor are fascinating. Numerous social media users shared their worries about Franco’s troubled past in the same post. Did we forget that he was the target of accusations of sexual misconduct? For those who may not recall, five different women accused Franco of “sexually exploitative behavior” in 2018. The charges were covered in a column by the LA Times. Some of them claimed to have accepted Franco’s demands despite feeling uncomfortable because they thought he could boost their careers. What?! Disgusting. Hollywood still has a blind spot when it comes to Latino talent, whether or not the casting is changed.
Source: The Washington Post
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