A lot of people are worried and feeling slightly uneasy at the thought of Johnny Depp — regardless of his acting chops and charisma — playing a Native American without actually being one (check him out above)!
Though, to be fair, he IS an honorary member of the Comanche tribe.
And Armie Hammer (AKA The Lone Ranger himself) says that it’s totally cool because he talked to a few Native Americans and they said they were fine with it! LOLz!
Honestly, if we were a Native American actor and had to watch a tailored-role go to a famous white guy, we might be a little upset too (on top of whether or not Depp’s portrayal is actually offensive!)! Here’s what he said about it being white people who actually have the problem with Tonto:
“They were nothing but excited about it. They loved it — they’re thrilled. It’s so funny, because every Native American we talked to was like, ‘This is awesome! I’m so excited.’ And every white person we talked to was like, ‘How dare you cast a non-Native American?’ It’s like, the white people are the one who have the problem, but the Indians — the Native Americans — are like, ‘This is great. We love it.’”
We’re sure some of those Native Americans DID honestly enjoy the casting, but some of them were probably paid extras or consultants to keep everything on track!
Honestly, we’ll have to see the flick before we come to a decision. Until then, we do wish more Native Americans (and other ethnicities other than famous white people) were given chances at awesome roles! We’re probably missing out on so much talent!!
We still LURVE Johnny Depp, though, and he probably doesn’t mean for anything to come off as offensive!
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