‘She’s basically reeling off these stereotypes’: Thandie Newton reveals why she dropped out of Charlie’s Angels – PerthNow

English actress Thandie Newton has revealed that she turned down a role in the 2000 hit movie Charlies Angels over concerns about racist and sexist undertones in the movie.
In a no-holds-barred interview with Vulture, the 47-year-old spoke about problematic meetings she had with Hollywood executives during the casting of the film.
At the time, the Emmy-winning Westworld actress had appeared in films like Beloved and Flirting, and was on her way to bigger projects like Mission: Impossible II.
Shes basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a black character.
But, she ended up walking away from the female-lead blockbuster film which ended up starring Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz firstly because of a racially insensitive meeting she had with the then Sony Pictures head Amy Pascal, who reportedly suggested Newtons character should be rewritten to be more stereotypically black.
She said, Look, I dont mean to be politically incorrect, but the character as written and you playing the role, I just feel like weve got to make sure that its believable, Newton recalled.
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Newton ended up walking away from the female-lead blockbuster film which ended up starring Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz.
When she pressed Pascal to explain, Newton said she was told the character, as written, shes been to university and is educated. Im like, Ive been to university. I went to Cambridge. She went, Yeah, but youre different.
Newton also said Pascal suggested there could be a scene in which the character goes to a bar, gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty.
Shes basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a black character. Everything she said, I was like, Nah, I wouldnt do that. Lets face it: I didnt do the movie as a result.
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Thandie Newton backstage during the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Credit: Allen J. Schaben/McClatchy Tribune
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Thandie Newton. Credit: Roadshow
In the interview, Newton also described an uncomfortable meeting with the director of Charlies Angels (who was Joseph McGinty Nichol, also known as McG), who suggested they open the film with a close up of her bum.
Youre going to think its like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize its the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass its going to look like tarmac, she recalled him saying.
I was like, Oh, I dont think were going to go down this road together.
I didnt want to be put in a position where I was objectified. That just didnt feel good.
In a statement, Pascal responded that she was horrified to hear Newtons story and said she had no recollection of the events described.
However, this is not the first time a racist story about Pascals tenure at Sony has emerged. In 2015 emails were leaked that showed her making inappropriate jokes about the kinds of movies Barack Obama might like, including titles like Django Unchained and The Butler.
Thandie Newton was ready to quit acting before landing her role in ‘Westworld’ because she was tied of the racist and sexist attitudes she encountered.

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