“He’s not Latino!” John Leguizamo SLAMS decision to cast James Franco as Fidel Castro and urges fans to boycott film over ‘appropriation’
John Leguizamo has criticized the decision to cast American actor James Franco as Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro in an upcoming film.
It was announced earlier this week that Franco, 44, would play Castro in the indie project Alina of Cuba, and Lequizamo, 62, took to his Instagram on Friday to talk about the casting choice.
‘What’s next? How does Hollywood exclude us, but also steal our narratives? Leguizamo began his tirade, which received nearly 10,000 likes.
“No more appropriation from Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously hard-to-tell story with no exaggeration, which would be wrong!’
“He’s not Latino!” John Leguizamo has slammed the decision to cast James Franco as Fidel Castro, urging fans to boycott the film for “appropriation.”
Adding: “I have no problem with Franco, but he’s not Latino!”
View co-host Ana Navarro then commented below the post, telling Leguizamo that she would join him in boycotting the film.
Navarro wrote: “I would imagine that no Latino actor worth his salt would sign on to play and glorify a murderous dictator who terrorized the people of Cuba for six decades. For both of the reasons you mentioned, I join you in the boycott.’
Role: Earlier this week it was announced that Franco, 44, would play Castro in the indie project Alina of Cuba (pictured; 2010)
Franco will star in the film, directed by Spanish director Miguel Bardem.
The Oscar-nominated actor is joined in the cast by actress Mía Maestro, 47, who will play the role of socialite Natalia “Naty” Revuelta, who was Castro’s one-time lover, Deadline reported Thursday.
The pair join the cast of actress Ana Villafañe, 33, who plays the role of Alina Fernandez – the daughter of Castro and Revuelta – in the film.
The latest: James Franco, 44, has been cast as the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro in director Miguel Bardem’s upcoming film Aline of Cuba. The actor was photographed in Italy in June
The film, written by Jose Rivera and Nilo Cruz, will tell the life story of Fernandez, a Cuban exile and social activist.
Fernandez found out she was Castro’s daughter when she was 10 years old when her mother revealed the truth to her after years of Castro secretly visiting the family home. Revuelta had given her and her husband, a doctor, the fortune to fund the initial stages of the communist revolution.
Fernandez eventually became an anti-communism activist, arrested multiple times and banned from traveling outside the country for her attempts to leave Cuba. Fernandez defected to Spain in 1993 and eventually settled in Miami.
Filming for the film will begin August 15 in the Colombian cities of Cartagena and Bogota, according to the outlet.