Disney is under serious backlash from public amid issue of "browning up" white actors to serve as extras for the upcoming live remake of "Aladdin." One of the extras for the movie said he saw "very fair skinned" actors waiting for makeup session to darken their skin complexion.
The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in May next year. The movie is being directed by English filmmaker Guy Ritchie. The iconic role of Genie will be portrayed by Hollywood star Will Smith. Princess Jasmine will be played by Naomi Scott, who played Pink Ranger or Kimberly Hard in the 2017 superhero film "Saban's Power Rangers." Aladdin will be brought to life by 26-year-old actor Mena Massoud.
After the news broke out regarding the makeup technique to brown up extras, the movie's production and Disney were targeted with criticism. According to reports, BAFTA-nominated Riaz Meer described it as an "insult to the whole industry."
The production for the movie is taking place at the Longcross studios situated in Surrey. The non-metropolitan county of Surrey is only an hour or 50 minutes ride from London with over one million Asian residents.
Kaushal Odedra, 32 years old and an extra for the movie slammed Disney for what he witnessed during the production. "Disney are sending out a message that your skin colour, your identity, your life experiences amount to nothing that can be powered on and washed off," Odedra told The Sunday Times.
A number of netizens also called out Disney on Twitter for the company's decision to hire white actors and brown them up instead of looking for Asian actors. One person tweeted, "@realguyritchie if you need brown actors to come to England to be in Aladdin lemme know! I'll be there in a heartbeat to counter the #disneytan conspiracy."
Disney and Ritchie have not commented about the issue yet.
