The Lilo & Stitch live-action remake is all Disney enthusiasts are talking about right now, but not for the best of reasons. After receiving immense praise for casting Maia Kealoha as Lilo in the movie, the entertainment company is currently facing backlash for its choice of actress to play the role of Nani.
Earlier today, the news broke that Sydney Elizabeth Agudong would be stepping up as Lilo’s reliable older sister, and folks were quick to comment on a particular detail. Despite having been born and raised in Hawaii, Agudong’s skin tone is several shades lighter than Nani’s, which has led to accusations that Disney is trying to get away with whitewashing the character. A lot of folks are now rhetorically questioning if Disney really couldn’t find a darker-skinned Hawaiian actress to play the role.
the whole population of hawaii didn’t have someone who’s the same skin tone as nani..?
— cherry saw nct dream (@jccyouinhell) April 14, 2023
I guess the melanin was a mere suggestion to them? 🙄
— Tasha (@t4sh4___) April 14, 2023
Nani is a darker skinned Hawaiian. Surely, there’s another actor.
— Jerard, le saint des enfants. (@JD0892) April 14, 2023
Meanwhile, others are drawing attention to the fact that Agudong has no physical resemblance to the animated character, as her features are far more Eurocentric than Nani’s. Some are also taking the opportunity to comment on the importance of giving actresses and actors with a darker complexion the chance to play characters that look like them, instead of taking the easy route of trying to appease everyone by continuously casting POC with lighter skin tones.
But Nani has darker complexion and very different features (the actor’s more Eurocentric) so it’s problematic. There’s already barely any representation for people like her so this takes away from that.
— 🎀 Lev 🎀 (@pokidokies) April 14, 2023
I think it’s important to recognize that yes, she is Hawaiian and light skinned/white passing Hawaiian natives exist. But nani is a dark skinned Hawaiian woman so give a dark skinned actress the chance too play her. regardless, this is still colorism/white washing.
— cosmic aesthetics (@cosmicsvibe) April 14, 2023
This is not even remotely the first time Disney faces whitewashing allegations in recent memory. The company was accused of such when the release of a trailer for Star Wars: The Bad Batch came about, and again this January when, in partnership with Funko, vinyl figures of Tiana and Naveen were presented to fans.
A lot of fans are now calling for Disney to re-cast Nani, but so far, there’s no information on whether or not that will actually happen. There’s a chance the Lilo & Stitch remake might suffer at the box office for this.
