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Credit: DisneyThe upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s Snow White just got yet another foe: Wee Man of Jackass, who says the company is making a mistake by not casting dwarf performers and that the story is “for dwarfs.”
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Wee Man recently spoke with TMZ about the much-discussed remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the very first feature by the Walt Disney Company, and his opinions were not positive.
The debate about whether casting dwarf performers as the titular seven dwarfs is a form of typecasting and relegating them to side roles has been raging since the movie was announced and Wee Man (also known as Jason Acuña) came down with a surprisingly nuanced position.
Related: Gal Gadot Speaks Out Regarding Live-Action ‘Snow White’ Role
After expressing surprise that he was being asked about Snow White, Wee Man explained that he did not understand why dwarf actors were not cast in roles explicitly made for them, saying, “Why are you hiring Snow White and the seven average people?”
However, when asked his opinion about Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage’s controversial criticism that making a movie highlighting stereotypical magic dwarf was typecasting, Wee Man emphatically agreed. However, he still seems to feel that casting non-dwarf actors in the role is essentially taking parts that could go to performers like himself.
Wee Man summed up his opinions by saying, “If [Disney] want to make it right, they re-do the movie and re-cast, make it seven dwarfs.”
However, the debate about which performers can and should play the seven dwarfs is only one aspect of the controversy over Snow White. Recent photos alleged to be from the production ignited a firestorm of debate about the appropriateness of casting Latin actress Rachel Zegler as the title character, as well as the dwarfs themselves.
While the discussion of the dwarf roles has largely been one of sizeism, the discussion of Rachel Zegler (who is of Colombian and Polish descent) as Snow White has been heavily based on racial tension and colorism.
Related: Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Under Fire for “Woke” Changes
Critics of the movie have labeled the new Snow White as “woke” for its changes, using the increasingly nebulous term to charge it with some kind of reverse-whitewashing; Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly recently went on a fiery tirade against Peter Dinklage, blaming him for dwarf performers not receiving roles after he expressed his thoughts on the casting of the Disney movie.
Snow White will star Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, and Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman and is scheduled to be released in March 2024. Undoubtedly, there will be a whole lot more controversies before then.
Who is right about the seven dwarfs? Let us know in the comments below!