Tim Burton’s ‘Wednesday’ Was Hit With Criticism For Its ‘Racist’ Portrayal Of Black Characters

Netflix’s latest smash hit Wednesday is a fun and creepy show based on those familiar Addams family characters, starring Jenna Ortega as the titular teen and directed by Tim Burton in his first-ever TV series.

While many were excited that the series chose to honor Charles Addam’s original characters by casting a Latina in the title role, others are upset about the alleged undertones in the series. Most of the Black actors in the series portray bullies or villains, like Wednesday’s school rival Bianca Barclay or Lucas Wilson, the son of the corrupt mayor. The mayor, a Black man, also owns “Pilgrim Land” in the series, which was definitely a…choice.

https://twitter.com/briarhoes/status/1597442214699098112

Unfortunately, Burton has been criticized before due to the lack of diversity in his films. The director has made over 35 movies, though Wednesday is the first to have a person of color as the lead. Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that he had spoken to Burton about his casting choices when he appeared in 2016’s Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children.

“I had to go back in my head and go, how many black characters have been in Tim Burton movies?” Jackson said at the time. “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.”

(Via CBR)