Netflix's Wednesday accused of racism for its depiction of Black characters

Netflix series Wednesday has been subjected to criticism online, after being accused by some viewers on social media of racist depictions of Black characters.

The show, directed by Tim Burton, has become the number one show on the platform since it arrived on November 23, but some have taken issue with the series on Twitter.

It comes down to the roles played by the Black actors in the cast. As some pointed out, Black actors play villains in the series who go up against protagonist Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna Ortega).

Joy Sunday plays the adversary Bianca Barclay, while Iman Marson is cast as a bully and son of a corrupt politician, Lucas Wilson.

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Others also took issue with the fact that Wilson's father in the show also owns Pilgrim Land, which is a museum that celebrates colonisers and pilgrims.

Wednesday has become the most watched new show on NetflixNetflix

One viewer criticised the show by writing on Twitter: “Don’t get me wrong…I love Jenna Ortega and that she’s playing Wednesday but one thing I hate about this show is that why did they make ALL the black people in this show terrible people?”

Another added: “Me trying to badly to push pass the racist and anti-Black undertones in the Wednesday Addams Netflix show. Like whoever thought making the Black man as the owner of a pilgrim amusement park is literally going to HELL.”

Burton and Netflix has yet to react to the reports publicly, but when the New York Post requested comment from Burton, his rep dismissed it by saying: “I’m not forwarding a comment request this silly to Tim.”

Comedy horror series Wednesday stars Jenna Ortega as the daughter of the Addams family, alongside the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman.

Netflix has said the scripted series based on The Addams Family is now the most-watched English-language series in a week in the platform’s history, with viewers watching more than 341.2 million hours of Wednesday in the space of a week.

Indy100 has reached out to Netflix and Tim Burton’s reps for comment.

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