Dakota Fanning faced backlash online after entertainment blog Deadline Hollywood tweeted out a clip of her new movie Sweetness in the Belly and mistakenly identified the actress’ role as “A White Ethiopian Muslim In Refugee Drama-Romance.”
‘Sweetness In The Belly’: First Clip Of Dakota Fanning As A White Ethiopian Muslim In Refugee Drama-Romance – Toronto https://t.co/L8ZPRnTIfu pic.twitter.com/8eFCBiv9IQ
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) September 4, 2019
The film, adapted from Camilla Gibbs’ 2005 novel of the same name, stars Fanning as Lilly Abdal, a young woman abandoned as a child by her English parents in Africa. When war breaks out in Ethiopia, Abdal flees to the U.K. as a refugee and begins work to help reunite other refugees with their families.
Twitter users were outraged over the headline and Fanning’s apparent role.
“Dakota Fanning is a what,” Twitter user @Phil_Lewis_ wrote.
Dakota Fanning is a what https://t.co/RTZcWS9Y0F
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 4, 2019
Many criticized the decision to cast a white woman as an Ethiopian Muslim refugee.
“so many talented Muslim actors out there and you cast… Dakota Fanning???????????????????? and to play an ETHIOPIAN?????????????? I BEG YOUR PARDON???????????????” user @muhammedbutt wrote.
so many talented Muslim actors out there and you cast… Dakota Fanning???????????????????? and to play an ETHIOPIAN?????????????? I BEG YOUR PARDON??????????????? https://t.co/XAgs6y2G98
— Muhammad Butt (@muhammadbutt) September 4, 2019
“This is so coincidental – just yesterday I was saying, you know who would best represent the contemporary refugee experience in Africa? Dakota Fanning,” user @Libyaliberty joked.
This is so coincidental – just yesterday I was saying, you know who would best represent the contemporary refugee experience in Africa? Dakota Fanning. https://t.co/asMJowvdhb
— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) September 4, 2019
Fanning later posted on her Instagram Story to clarify her character’s role in the movie. “I do not play an Ethiopian woman,” Fanning wrote. “I play a British woman abandoned by her parents at seven years old in Africa and raised Muslim.”
In addition to Fanning’s Instagram story, a handful of Twitter users attempted to clarify her role in the film and accused Deadline Hollywood of a deliberately misleading tweet about Fanning’s role.
“Anyway Deadline Hollywood made a clickbait-y title that deliberately mislead people to the point where Dakota Fanning had to put out a statement,” @blackheartwings wrote.
Anyway Deadline Hollywood made a clickbait-y title that deliberately mislead people to the point where Dakota Fanning had to put out a statement.
— Gaby @ SGDQ 2024 (@blackheartwings) September 5, 2019
It’s all good guys pic.twitter.com/KQoxMBRQRq
“The #DakotaFanning uproar is a prime example of people not educating themselves before getting outraged on woke Twitter and looking stupid as hell,” @foxymnj said.
https://twitter.com/foxymnj/status/1169572172383305728
Sweetness in the Belly is set to premiere this week at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
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