Harold Perrineau has come to the defense of his daughter Aurora against critics who’ve said she’s “not black enough” to play the role of an African-American character from the animated series, Jem and the Holograms.
In a guest blog for website The Wrap, Perrineau writes , “The reason I’m so angry right now (and I’m sure that many people will be able to understand this) is that I feel like my daughter — MY CHILD — is being attacked. She is being harshly and unfairly judged during a time when she should be relishing her accomplishments. You see my daughter, Aurora Perrineau, decided to become an actor like her old man.And while I know the many pitfalls that she may encounter, my wife and I have tried to shield her as much as we can. We’ve taught her to work hard and to respect her gifts by training and making her art important to her. We’ve taught her to respect herself and others. The road of the artist is long and arduous.”
He adds, “Nevertheless, when she was cast in the film “Jem and the Holograms,” something she worked extremely hard on, she suddenly became the target of a lot of people’s anger. Aurora is the product of a Caucasian mother and a black father and is therefore not qualified or not “black” enough to play a black character from an animated series, according to some people. Her blackness or lack thereof is so offensive to some that they’ve written articles about it. They’ve gone onto social media and spewed their vitriol directly at her. Some went so far as to suggest that she “kill herself” for taking the role. All, without ever seeing her work in the role. All this anger based solely on the color of her skin.”
Perrineau, best known for his role on “Lost, goes on to say that he hopes that the critics can instead channel their energy elsewhere. “My hope is to reach the folks writing these articles and pointing fingers at young artists like my daughter and get them to use all of that creative fire and create characters that look, sound and feel like yourselves.”
Read more at The Wrap.com.
Photo: The Wrap
