Jungle Cruise, the upcoming film starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, will reportedly feature Disney’s first openly gay character. While that’s progress for sure, there is some criticism over the casting of the role.
On the conservative side, you have complaints about a gay character in a Disney film. That’s no shocker. On the other side, you have many in the LGBTQ community angry because a straight actor is playing a gay roll.
On Sunday, a report in the U.K. tabloid the Sun said that the role British comedian and actor Jack Whitehall, 30, is playing in the movie based on Disneyland’s theme park ride and set in the 19th century is “a gay man — one who is hugely effete, very camp and very funny,” according to a source. “This latest script, set at a time when it wasn’t socially acceptable to be gay, is another significant turning point.”
And while it’s definitely a turning point, there’s criticism online over casting an actor in the role who isn’t gay. Though many also wondered whether an actor’s sexual orientation should matter when it comes to casting a role.
