The news that James Franco will play former Cuban president Fidel Castro in an upcoming film has shocked some in Hollywood. (No, not because of his allegations of sexual misconduct.)
Veteran actor John Leguizamo posted TAUT‘s casting news on Instagram, writing: “How is this still going? How does Hollywood lock us out, but also steal our stories? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott!”
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Leguizamo called the situation “[f*****] upwards.”
“Plus a seriously hard story to tell without glorification, which would be wrong! I don’t have a problem with Franco, but he’s not Latino,” said the Moulin Rouge! star added.
Newly appointed The view co-host Ana Navarro noted that she plans to boycott — for many reasons.
“I would like to think that no Latino actor worth his salt would sign up to play and glorify a murderous dictator who terrorized the people of Cuba for six decades. For both reasons you pointed out, I close join you in the boycott,” she wrote.
Miguel Bardem’s movie Alina from Cuba Ana Villafañe plays Castro’s daughter, Alina Fernandez, and follows the true story of her Cuban exile. The screenplay is by Oscar-nominated writer Jose Rivera and Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz.
This is one of Franco’s first big casting announcements since he got swept up in the #MeToo movement in 2018. In a rare December interview, Franco admitted to using “fame as bait” but said not all of the allegations were true.
