Disney ripped for removing Snow White's dwarves: 'Little people should have the choice for a role'
Actresses Lina Godouse and Brittney Guzman give their take on the controversial remake of the classic tale on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
"Jackass" film star "Wee Man," an actor with dwarfism, called out two big-budget Hollywood remakes for using "average"-sized actors to play dwarf characters.
"Wee Man," whose real name is Jason Acuña, slammed both Disney’s live-action "Snow White" remake and Warner Brothers’ upcoming "Wonka" film for casting average-sized actors as dwarf characters in each of the films.
Acuña pointed out how the casting decisions obstruct actors with dwarfism from getting major Hollywood roles. He also demanded that Disney recast the "Snow White" remake with dwarf actors.
"Jackass" film star Jason Acuña ripped multiple upcoming Hollywood films for casting "average" people in roles traditionally played by actors with dwarfism, (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images)
In a clip from Hollywood outlet Movie Maniac’s interview with the "Jackass" star, Acuña expressed disbelief that British actor Hugh Grant, an average-sized person, is playing an Oompa Loompa in the upcoming movie about Willy Wonka’s origin story.
As in Roald Dahl’s famous book, "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory," and multiple screen adaptations of the work, the Oompa Loompas are presented as dwarf-sized and portrayed by actors with dwarfism.
Though Grant’s upcoming portrayal of involves him being digitally re-sized to play the dwarf-like assistants to actor Timothée Chalamet’s "Wonka."
In the Tik Tok clip, Acuña claimed, "Hugh Grant is now playing an Oompa Loompa? So I guess Hugh Grant, you’re now identifying as a little person?" Sarcastically, the actor added, "Huh, interesting."
In another short video from the same interview, the "Jackass" stuntman took aim at Disney’s "Snow White" remake, which has opted to use a mix of average-sized people and people with dwarfism to portray the classic "Seven dwarves" from the original Disney animated classic.
For the sake of inclusivity Disney has opted to call these updated characters the seven "magical creatures."
Wee Man said, "You’re replacing jobs that people could have [us] as little people. It’s for dwarfs. Why are you hiring ‘Snow White and the seven average people?"
A photo from Disney's upcoming live-action Snow White shows multiple average sized actors playing the original "Seven Dwarves" characters. ((Screenshot/ Gutfeld!))
In the same clip the actor then encouraged Disney to "re-do" casting the dwarfs with members of the dwarfism community, saying, "Make it better, Disney."
Wee Man’s message to Disney represented the opposite complaint of one that fellow dwarf actor and "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage made to the company over the Snow White remake last year.
During a podcast appearance, Dinklage slammed Disney for attempting to come off as progressive for casting a Latina actress as Snow White, while keeping the dwarfs in the upcoming adaptation.
He said, "You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f---ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f--- are you doing, man?"
After the actor’s complaint, Disney provided a statement claiming, "To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community."
Recent photos from the set of the Disney remake revealed that the new "magical creatures" were portrayed by normal-sized actors of different races, and one white actor with dwarfism.
Though Disney initially denied these photos were part of its production, the company backtracked and confirmed "the photos were from the production but were not official photos," the Daily Beast wrote.
Acuña’s criticism of the films followed British actor George Coppen’s complaint against Grant’s casting as a dwarf. Coppen, who has dwarfism too, wrote on Instagram last month, "So I was watching the new Wonka trailer and I thought it looked pretty good until the very end where Hugh Grant appears as an oompa loompa. Why? In the previous two films all the oompa loompas have been played by dwarves but this time round they have decided to take work away from us."
Fox News Digital reached out to both Disney and Warner Brothers for response to Acuña’s criticism.
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NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 18: Rusty Goffe, who starred in the 1971 version of the film, and the Oompa Loompas attend the 40th Anniversary of "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" at Jacques Torres Chocolates on October 18, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage) (Getty Images)