Naomi Scott Heritage: Who Is The New Jasmine
Is Disney ready for a whole new world?
Naomi Scott Heritage: Who Is The New Jasmine?
After endless acts of whitewashing in Hollywood, when Disney announced their live-action remake of Aladdin, many fans were just relieved to hear that the cast wasn't white. But, is that setting the bar too low?
At the D23 Expo this weekend, Disney announced their picks for Aladdin and Jasmine, who are the leads of the live-action remake. And fans were quick to criticize the heritage of Naomi Scott, who landed the role of Princess Jasmine.
So excited to be a part of this adventure! This is gonna be fun :) https://t.co/fFpkkEg2kR
— Naomi Scott (@NaomiScott) July 15, 2017
While it is exciting for a woman of color to finally land a lead role in a major Hollywood film, Disney's casting perpetuates the idea that South Asian and Middle Eastern people are interchangeable.
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!! Aladdin isn't from India, so why are people suggesting indian actors? Not all brown people are the same. 🙄
— Julia (@ThatHapaChick) July 13, 2017
Scott is of British and Gujarati descent. Jasmine is supposed to be from the Middle East. Even Disney specifically mentioned that the leads of the Aladdin are Middle Eastern.
This is Naomi Scott. She is Indian, and white.
— Hamza Mussé (@HamzaMusse) July 15, 2017
This is Jasmine, she is middle eastern. And not white. #Aladdin pic.twitter.com/MTvfQvyaMt
As always, Hollywood and Disney need to do better. It's not ok that casting directors still believe that looking "ethnic enough" is enough. The industry needs to be more inclusive and not clump people of color into one giant stereotyped group and call it a day. Do better. Be better.
aladdin: arab
— yara (@w0nderwallhes) July 13, 2017
yall: lets get an indian to play him! pic.twitter.com/i95Appja3g
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