Most notably, the prolific John Leguizamo, who just lately voiced Bruno in Disney’s “Encanto,” blasted Franco’s casting on Instagram. Leguizamo argued that the function ought to have gone to a Latino actor as a substitute.
“How is that this nonetheless happening?” Leguizamo requested on Friday. “How is Hollywood excluding us however stealing our narratives as effectively? No extra appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus significantly tough story to inform with out aggrandizement, which might (be) fallacious! I do not received a (drawback) with Franco however he ain’t Latino!”
Franco is ready to star as Castro within the upcoming “Alina of Cuba,” with manufacturing set to start out later this 12 months, per stories. The film follows the lifetime of Alina Fernandez, Castro’s daughter.
Leguizamo is not the one Latino star angered by the casting.
“Wtf is that this….” wrote actress Jess Darrow, who voiced Luisa Madrigal in “Encanto,” in response to Leguizamo’s publish.
“I am sorry however what within the precise f**ok?” wrote actor Raúl Castillo in an Instagram story.
“Not me studying that James Franco should ‘construct’ an accent for Castro, when my complete life I have been made enjoyable of for not talking English like an American and been instructed numerous instances to work laborious to do away with it…” wrote actress Sol Rodriguez.
“I am auditioning for an additional generic Latin-American drug supplier and James Franco is lifeless a** enjoying Fidel Castro,” wrote actor Jeff Torres on Twitter. “Latinos gettin’ accomplished soiled af out right here and all over the place. Rattling lol.”
Latino illustration has lengthy lagged in Hollywood. Regardless of making up 18% of the US inhabitants, solely 5% of the talking roles in 2019’s high 100 motion pictures went to Latino actors, based on a 2020 examine by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
Franco additionally confronted allegations of inappropriate and sexually exploitive conduct in 2018 from 5 girls, a number of of whom have been his college students. In 2021, within the wake of settling a class-action lawsuit, he admitted to sleeping with college students from the appearing college he co-owned.