A producer for Netflix’s Adam Sandler Western spoof “Ridiculous Six” told Native American actors they should “probably leave” the set if they’re offended by any perceived stereotypes or jokes in the script.
“If you are overly sensitive about it, then you should probably leave,” the producer, who has not been identified, says in a cell phone video released by Indian Country Today.
The producer was meeting with several actors who had complained about stereotypical portrayals of Apache culture in the script. Specifically, they took issue specifically with characters named Beaver’s Breath and No Bra, and an actress portraying an Apache woman squatting and urinating while smoking a peace pipe.
The producer also says that nothing in the script was meant to be disrespectful, to which one of the actors replies, “You’re trying to tell a Native what’s disrespectful?”
According to reports, approximately a dozen Native American actors walked off the set over their problems with the script. Since news of the walk off broke last week, people have begun using the hashtag #WalkOffNetflix to show support for the actors.
“We talked to the producers about our concerns,” Allison Young, one of the actresses who walked off set, said. “I was just standing there and got emotional and teary-eyed. I didn’t want to cry, but the feeling just came over me. This is supposed to be a comedy that makes you laugh. A film like this should not make someone feel this way.”
Rapper Vanilla Ice, who plays author Mark Twain in the film, defended Sandler. “This isn’t ‘Dances with Wolves.’ It’s a comedy,” he said in an interview with TMZ. Ice said that he can see both sides of the issue, however, as he is part Choctaw himself.
The film is the first of a four-picture deal Sandler made with Netflix. It is meant to be a spoof of famous Westerns like “The Magnificent Seven.”
Netflix released a statement in support of Sandler and the film, saying “The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke.”
Watch the video below.