Fake News That Jennifer Lawrence Will Play Mulan Sparks Twitter Outrage

  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
By William Hicks | 2:49 pm, September 14, 2016
Read More

There has been lots of outrage lately over the “whitewashing” of Asian characters. Scarlett Johansson will playing a Japanese woman in Ghost in the Shell, while Tilda Swinton will play a Tibetan monk in Doctor Strange, and certain people are absolutely livid. Even the upcoming film The Great Wall spawned a new outrage cycle for having the gall to cast Matt Damon as the lead (playing a European adventurer).

So the stage was set for a perfect prank by the Twitter parody account @Unreel__News, which tweeted out that Disney was eying Jennifer Lawrence to play Mulan in a live-action version of the 1998 animated film. Prior to the prank there was already a petition with 90,000 signatures calling on Disney to not whitewash Mulan.

https://twitter.com/Unreel__News/status/775353783295541248

While many knew the tweet was fake, others responded with righteous indignation.

Others, out of exasperation, suggested more culturally sensitive actresses for the role.

https://twitter.com/MuawiyahHaq/status/775831926607339520

Unreel News kept adding fuel to the fire by tweeting out stories, one suggesting that Zac Effron would play Mulan’s love interest, Li Shang, and another saying that Disney’s CEO publicly responded to the controversy by claiming Lawrence was the perfect fit for the role.

But regardless of the authenticity of the story, one brave Twitter account reminds us all we are racist no matter what.

Follow me on Twitter @William__Hicks

Advertisement