Petition For Disney To Stop Casting POC Meet and Greet Characters with White Entertainers Goes Viral. Some Disney Parks fans are not happy with how Disney has been “whitewashing” many of the meet and greet characters found in the theme parks around the world. So much so, that it has sparked a petition online to only cast POC entertainers in roles such as Black Panther, Jasmine and Aladdin, Moana, and more.
The creator of the petition writes: “Disney claims to care about people of color, but they continue to cast white men and women in fake spray tans for these particular roles. Important characters such as; Jasmine, Pocahontas, Moana, Black Panther, Li Shang, and Aladdin, within the Disney entertainment arenas around the world, need to be played by the people of color they were brought to life by. It’s extremely disrespectful to the community of color and it needs to stop. Young kids come to the parks looking forward to meeting these characters, aka their personal heroes, and are instead, sadly greeted by white men and women in cheap spray tans. Disney has more than enough monetary resources and beautiful actors to choose from, there is absolutely no reason as to why this should be allowed to continue. So please sign this petition in hopes of making these much needed changes a reality. ”
Currently the petition has 19,658 signatures out of the requested 25,000, with a high chance that many more will be added to the roster by the time you read through this article.
We know entertainment is a tough business to be in, but this never should have been an issue in the first place. There are thousands of entertainers that audition year after year for these roles and though many entertainers in the parks fill multiple face characters roles per their job description, roadblocks should be kept in place to allow for diversity amongst the Entertainment Cast Members, particularly in roles for a POC characters from the films and shows. There is no reason to replace characters with various ethnic backgrounds out of convenience with entertainers that do not share that same heritage.
Have you had this issue when visiting the Disney Parks? Does it ruin the magic for you and your family when a character is blatantly not represented by the proper actor/actress? Then you can sign the petition and support the cause by CLICKING HERE to let your voice be heard.
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Featured Photo Credit: Change.org/Disney Parks
Source: Change.org
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