Rooney Mara Says She ‘Felt Really Bad’ About ‘Pan’ Casting Criticism

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Rooney Mara ;came under fire last year when it was revealed the actress had netted the part of Tiger Lily ;in the “Peter Pan” remake, “Pan.” Many immediately accused the casting choice of promoting ;whitewashing ;in Hollywood, as Tiger Lily is a Native American character and Mara is white. Nearly 95,000 people petitioned Warner Bros. to change its casting decision and “stop casting white ;actors to play people of color.” Mara addressed the incident on the red carpet premiere of “Pan” Sunday night, telling People: “It wasn’t great, I felt really bad about it,” said Mara of the casting criticism. “But I totally sympathize with why people were upset and feel really bad about it.” Though the …

Rooney Mara ;came under fire last year when it was revealed the actress had netted the part of Tiger Lily ;in the “Peter Pan” remake, “Pan.”

Many immediately accused the casting choice of promoting ;whitewashing ;in Hollywood, as Tiger Lily is a Native American character and Mara is white. Nearly 95,000 people petitioned Warner Bros. to change its casting decision and “stop casting white ;actors to play people of color.”

Mara addressed the incident on the red carpet premiere of “Pan” Sunday night, telling People:

“It wasn’t great, I felt really bad about it,” said Mara of the casting criticism. “But I totally sympathize with why people were upset and feel really bad about it.”

Though the actress ;says she sympathizes, Mara ;is now unfortunately linked to a long list of examples of Hollywood whitewashing. Earlier this year, Cameron Crowe’s flick “Aloha” was in hot water after Emma ;Stone, who is white, was cast as Allison Ng, a character who was supposed to be ;a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese.

Hollywood also has a long history of casting white actors to play Native Americans. The latest example took place in 2013, when Johnny Depp was ;cast as Tonto in “The Lone Ranger.” ;

But even when casting directors do hire Native Americans for roles, it doesn’t mean things always go well. ;About a dozen Native Americans walked off the set of Adam Sandler’s Netflix movie, “The Ridiculous Six,” in April 2015. The actors claimed the movie was “disrespectful” and reinforced negative stereotypes. ;

“Right from the get-go, it didn’t feel right. But we let it go,” said Loren Anthony, a Navajo actor, to the Associated Press. “Once we found out more about the script, we felt it was totally disrespectful to elders and Native women.”

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Hollywood still has a long way to go when it comes to casting choices. But maybe next time when there’s a role meant for a person of color, the right actors will get the part. ;

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Rooney Mara Says She ‘Felt Really Bad’ About ‘Pan’ Casting Criticism