In a time where people are looking at diversity behind-the-screens and on-screen of TV shows and movies, Netflix’s upcoming Marvel show, Iron Fist, has started to come under fire for whitewashing the cast, according to ComicBook.com.
The controversy first started when Finn Jones was cast as Danny Rand, who’s commonly known by his superhero name of Iron Fist, last year. Many assumed that an Asian American actor or an actor of Asian descent would be cast in the role because of the character’s roots in Asian culture, even though the character was depicted as white in the comics.
Jones took to Twitter to defend the show from fans who said the show was whitewashing its cast. He first responded to a Twitter user, then was sent many more tweets asking him about representation and diversity on the show, to which Jones said that Iron Fist is the most diverse Marvel shows that are on Netflix.
Eventually, Jones had to take down his Twitter account, but reactivated it less than a day later.
He released a statement to Deadline, which gave his story as to why he left Twitter for a little bit.
“There is a huge benefit to engage and help shape conversations on social media, especially when it comes to giving a voice to social matters. My original intention was to amplify a speech made by Riz Ahmed at the House of Commons. It was a very articulate and important speech on representation that I wholly agreed with. After posting I was inundated by people accusing me of not being allowed to share his voice based on an assumption that our show is going to play into the problems of racial inequality on screen. I engaged politely, diplomatically and attempted to bridge the divide. I’m currently in the middle of filming and I need to stay focused on bringing to life this character without judgment, so I decided to remove myself from twitter for the time being.
“I am very proud of the work everyone has done on this series and I’m excited for people to see how we’ve adapted the story. We have gone to great lengths to represent a diverse cast with an intelligent, socially progressive storyline. I hope people can watch the show before making judgments. In times, as divisive as these, we need to stay unified, compassionate and understanding in our differences.”
The original tweet that put Jones in hot water talked about how he thinks diversity and representation is important, which was first posted on March 5.
Iron Fist premieres on Netflix on Friday, March 17.