Director Tim Burton, who was last seen denying reports of a sequel to Beetlejuice, has a new film coming out on Friday called Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. When asked about the film’s mostly white cast in a new interview, Burton defended the lack of diversity, explaining "things either call for things, or they don’t." He then mentioned being "offended" when The Brady Bunch got "politically correct."
Discussing the on-screen adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s, Burton toldBustle diversity is more talked about these days than it was when he was growing up, before saying:
Burton’s comments become less surprising after Bustle pointed out that in the director’s 36 films to date, Samuel L. Jackson is the first black actor to be cast in a leading role. Jackson stars in Miss Peregrine’s as “Barron,” a villain. Miss Peregrine’s lack of diversity wasn’t lost on Jackson, but he told Bustle it also wasn’t going to stop him from taking on the project.
"I had to go back in my head and go, how many black characters have been in Tim Burton movies?" Jackson said. "And I may have been the first, I don’t know, or the most prominent in that particular way, but it happens the way it happens. I don’t think it’s any fault of his or his method of storytelling, it’s just how it’s played out. Tim’s a really great guy."
Let’s just say Twitter wasn’t nearly as forgiving of Burton as Samuel L. was, especially after his comments.
Related Stories
New Study Proves #HollywoodSoWhite (and Male, and Straight, and Able-Bodied)
A new study shows that Hollywood has a very, very, very long way to go when it comes to diversity.
The Emmys Aren’t #SoWhite, But There’s Still a Lot of Work to Do
TV's diversity is in good shape, but it could be way better.
