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Native American Actors Walk Off Adam Sandler Film Over Stereotypes
Actor Loren Anthony taking a selfie on set of 'Ridiculous 6' with Nick Nolte standing the background (Photo via Instagram)
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A group of Native American actors said they walked off the set of Adam Sandler's star-studded comedy Ridiculous 6 on Wednesday after they had to endure insensitive jokes and overplayed stereotypes during the filming.
Ridiculous 6 is a spoof off of westerns like The Magnificent Seven, and supposedly follows Sandler's role as an orphan who grew up with a Native American tribe, the Wrap reports. Even though the filmmakers hired a cultural adviser for the filming in New Mexico, the racial jokes and Apache misrepresentations were enough to warrant even the cultural adviser to walk off along with about 12 other actors, according to Indian Country Today Media Network, a Native American news website.
The actors, who are mostly from the Navajo nation, said that they were offended that characters in the movie had names like "Beaver's Breath" and "No Bra." Actor Loren Anthony said the jokes got worse as they continued to shoot this week. The Apache costumes also ended up getting mixed up with Comanche tribe wear, Anthony said.
When the cultural consultant and actors complained to the filmmakers about the script and costumes, nothing happened. Anthony said the director told them that "the disrespect was not intentional and this was a comedy." Actress Allison Young said when they talked to the producers, their response was, "If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave."
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Young said,"Nothing has changed. We are still just Hollywood Indians."
Adam Sandler and Happy Madison Productions, his production company helming the film, have not provided any comment yet to the outlet. The last tweet Sandler sent out was promoting the recent film he produced, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
Sandler has a heavy hand in Ridiculous 6 since he's not only the star of the film, but he also co-wrote the script and the film with frequent collaborator Tim Herlihy. The comedy is rumored to be filled with a bizarre roster of big-name stars like Taylor Lautner, Nick Nolte, Blake Shelton, Whitney Cummings, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Dan Aykroyd, Will Forte, Nick Swardson, Terry Crews, Jon Lovitz and Vanilla Ice.
Update: 2:40 p.m: A spokesperson for Netflix sent Vulture a statement: "The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke."
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