December 1, 2022
Tim Burton’s ‘Wednesday’ Netflix Series Hit With Racist Claims Over Casting Black Actors as ‘Bullies’
Fans are pulling the race card on Tim Burton and Netflix for the casting and undertones on the new hit comedy horror series Wednesday.
According to the New York Post, the show, which follows Wednesday Addams and her life as a boarding school student, collected mixed reviews after its premiere last week. Critics pointed out Black actress Joy Sunday’s role as a mean girl at Nevermore Academy and Iman Marson, a Black actor who portrays a bully and the son of a corrupt mayor.
A rep for Burton, who contributed to the series as a director and executive producer, dismissed the criticism when contacted by the New York Post.
“I’m not forwarding a comment request this silly to Tim,” Mike Simpson of William Morris Endeavor (WME) responded.
“However, apparently Daylight Savings Time is racist,” he added with a link to a recent CNN article regarding how Daylight Savings Time disproportionately affects the sleep and health of people of color.
“’ Wednesday’ was shot in Romania where DST [Daylight Savings Time] is observed. Maybe that’s a better angle,” Simpson said.
One Twitter user questioned Netflix for allowing all the Black actors in the show to portray terrible people, calling Burton a racist.
https://twitter.com/luffyslover/status/1597016158023995392
Me trying to badly to push pass the racist and anti-Black undertones in the Wednesday Addams Netflix show. Like whoever thought making the Black man as the owner of a pilgrim amusement park is literally going to HELL. 😶🙃😬😒💁🏾♀️
— Jada (@jada178) November 26, 2022
Reportedly, some heads also tilted at the choice of the mayor owning Pilgrim World, with the museum celebrating pilgrims and colonizers.
According to Tyla, other viewers disagreed with the opinions of the critics.
“The Black girl was also classified as the prettiest most popular girl in the school,” one viewer said.
“A Black girl with NON Eurocentric features. A Black girl with a short cut. A non mixed girl. She’s classified as the prettiest!!! They really did a thing.”
“Wait, but Bianca isn’t a mean girl imo [in my opinion],” another added.
“We were led to believe that in the first few episodes, but then we got her backstory and go to know her more and and sided with her. She’s one of the best characters.”
Burton has been criticized for his portrayal of actors of color in his projects before. In 2016, Burton responded to speculation from actor Samuel L. Jackson who mentioned that he was the first Black lead in a Burton film during his promotion for “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”