Earlier this week, news broke that Will Smith is being cast to play Venus and Serena Williams’ father, Richard Williams, in King Richard — a truly uplifting tale of his troubling past, and how he managed to raise two superstar tennis players with no tennis background himself.
It sounds like it’ll be a great film, but not everyone is happy about the casting.
We just learned that a film is being made about Venus and Serena William’s father, Richard.
The scriptwriter, Zach Baylin, was a runner-up on the 2018 survey of that year’s favorite Hollywood screenplays that have yet to be produced.
So, to say the least, people had very high hopes for this film coming to life.
Will Smith being cast for the leading role in “Kind Richard” has sparked some controversy.
People are seriously unhappy with this casting choice — not because they don’t think Will Smith would do a poor job, but of something known as colorism .
Colorism, for those of you that aren’t entirely familiar with the term, is discrimination against people with dark skin complexions.
Essentially, because Richard Williams’ skin is a lot darker than Will Smith’s, people are wondering why the role didn’t go to someone else — someone with darker skin.
There are tons of black actors in Hollywood that probably would have done an amazing job, if given the opportunity.
But instead, the role went to Will Smith, someone who gets cast for major films all the time .
In the past, Will has been nominated for Oscars for his performances in “Ali,” “The Pursuit Of Happyness,” and “Concussion.”
His talents as an actor are not in question.
Fans just think that there are others who might be better suited for this role.
This person tweeted that they “love Will Smith” but believe someone else should be cast instead of him.
This seems to be a very popular opinion on Twitter.
This person even compared Will Smith to Scarlett Johansson, someone who has frequently taken on roles in the past that weren’t entirely suitable for her.
This person also hopes to find out that Don Cheadle was offered the role first, but turned it down.
As you can see, Scarlett has become a bit of a running joke.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think she’s great.
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But she does have a history of playing characters that someone else most definitely should have been cast for instead of her.
This person was simply at a loss for words.
But the reaction video pretty much sums up how everyone is feeling, very accurately.
Some are curious oif Will is going to be in blackface.
Suggesting that’s how ridiculous this casting choice is.
I think we can safely assume that they’re not going to be making Will’s skin darker for this role.
Many people have offered up their own suggestions on who should play the role of Richard, instead of Will Smith.
Mahershala Ali is a popular fan-choice.
But this person also brought up that even if Mahershala Ali wasn’t available for the role, there are many other dark-skinned actors out there.
Idris Elba and Denzel Washington were two other suggestions.
I could definitely get on board with Idris Elba being cast for this role (for many reasons).
Solid pick.
Courtney B Vance would be another very considerable choice for this role.
Courtney’s known for his roles in The Hunt For Red October , Dangerous Minds , and The Divide .
Ultimately, Will Smith was chosen, most likely because he’s always a hit with the box offices.
To give the casting directors the benefit of the doubt, they probably just want the movie to bring in as much money as possible, so they cast a Hollywood favorite, without taking into consideration the backlash they had yet to receive.
Hopefully, Will Smith does an amazing job with this role nonetheless!
