Toy Story 4' Is Being Called RACIST For Having No Black Leads

 
'Toy Story 4' Is Being Called RACIST For Having No Black Leads

: "It's A Story About Toys!'
GMB guests clash over the claim that 'Toy Story 4' is racist for having no Black leads, debate leaves viewers perplexed as hosts receive strong arguments for both sides.


Good Morning Britain sparked a topical debate this morning when film critics accused Toy Story 4 of 'not being diverse enough'. This follows the criticism it received, particularly from film critic Stella Duffy, who accused Disney of ableism, being anti-feminist, and having no Black leads. 

Good Morning Britain sparks debate that Toy Story 4 is not diverse enough
The topic was trending when a review by Stella Duffy criticized the film for having no Black lead characters among the dinosaurs and potato heads and denounced claims that the new Bo Peep is a ‘feminist’. Duffy sparked debates about the new Pixar film when she called out the filmmakers out for its lack of minority ethnic and disabled characters following last week's release.

On GMB (Good Morning Britain), Film critic Stella Duffy recently criticized 'Toy Story 4' for its anti-feminism and 'lack of black characters'. Toy Story 4 is an animated movie about kids toys. Stop with the ignorant nonsense. Stop shoving your idiotic views down our throats!


Good Morning Britain show hosts Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid invited writer and presenter Afua Adom and doctor and activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu onto the show to discuss the issue. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu agreed with the criticism the movie faced as she told the presenters that the film had completely missed real issues facing minority ethnic and female actors in Hollywood. She claims that Disney Pixar has a responsibility to reflect children’s experiences from a diverse range of backgrounds. She went on to elucidate her stance that, "I think it’s diabolically ignorant of any parent or adult to miss the essence of the backlash that Toy Story is facing."

#StellaDuffy got exactly what she was looking for with that load of s**t about a lack of diversity in #ToyStory4 ...ATTENTION!

Is there a lack of diversity in live action cinema? Sure. But you’re not going to fix that by trashing a kids movie for no reason. #goodmorningbritain https://t.co/Tfwl2cOhTi

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As the show aired live, GMB viewers took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the debate about Toy Story's diversity. The result was an even clash of opinions where viewers had strong points to support both Afua Adom and Shola Mos-Shogbamimu's statements.

Stop it! Stop it now! Is toy story 4 lacking diversity? Seriously... it’s a kids film! This is just getting ridiculous now! People are now looking for anything at all to take offence to! 😔 @GMB #ToysStory4 #Ridiculous

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Considering a lot children with disability watch Disney they should be more inclusive 👍🏻

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#gmb CANT BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE HAVE AN ISSUE WITH DIVERSITY IN TOY STORY 4... really? Really? REALLY??? Pathetic... it’s a film just for fun and kids need fun. End of.

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Shocking responses to be honest. And just because something has been around for 20 years doesn't mean it can't learn, change and grow. Newsflash people, toys like this exist. pic.twitter.com/55rIGblLDu

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When asked further on why she chose to agree with the criticism, Shola said: ‘It’s not just about crimes. When you say it’s just kids, it’s almost as if we miss the trick in understanding that children are diverse and they have diverse experiences."

"Movie companies like Pixar and Disney have a global platform to become part of the evolution of diverse inclusion. That inclusion isn’t about race and gender, it’s also about abilities and disabilities, and children on the autistic spectrum. There’s so many." added she.

Is Toy Story 4 lacking in diversity?@SholaMos1 says we deserve to have 'representative teachable moments' in movies.@afuathescot thinks we should focus on live action films for more diversity when it comes to lead roles for actors of colour and women. pic.twitter.com/AYPmohDhOR

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However, on the flipside, Afua Adom, a journalist at Glam Africa Magazine, shot back at the criticism exclaiming that the accusers had completely missed real issues facing minority ethnic and female actors in Hollywood. "People have missed the point of Toy Story - it's a story about toys,' she said, adding: 'I think I saw a diverse range of characters - I saw a Martian, I saw a Mr. Potato Head and I saw a dinosaur," said Adom.

Can we just keep bloody politics out of kids cartoons please.

What happened to just watching a film without looking for something to get offended by.

— Dan (@Kingdom_Of_Hull) June 27, 2019


They are toys! & yes there are no black leads but some of them are overweight , green, put together differently &Jesse is a bad ass girl. There's diversity but more importantly there's morality & humour both really needed these days. #ToysStory4


Adom went on to explain, "If we’re talking about a teachable moment then that teachable moment should be about sustainability. When we watched them, my daughter asked why is Forky trying to get back to the trash, shouldn’t he be trying to get back to the recycling?"

She added that "I think we should be focusing on live action films where you have two out of 10 leads are actors of color, and only 33 percent of those leads are women. That’s where we should be focusing, not on Toy Story 4."

Jeez! Such ignorance in comments to #GMB on #DiversityandInclusion re #toystory

Diversity isn't just RACE! 🙄

1. Sex ED & #LGBT are taught to kids bcos its RIGHT & PROGRESSIVE

2.Kids movies shld also be PROGRESSIVE & reflect DIVERSE LIVED EXPERIENCES incl fictional characters!

Toy Story 4 features voice performances from Jay Hernandez, who is of Mexican descent, Japanese actor Ally Maki, Keegan-Michael Key who is Black and mixed race, and Carl Weathers who made his acting break in the blaxploitation genre. There is an argument to be made as to whether diversity only means what someone presents as or does the conversation extend to who is being given a seat at the table.

Aside from Duffy however, many critics in the U.K. and the U.S. feel that this issue shouldn't exist in the first place. They're of the opinion that most movie-goers want to sit back and enjoy a film rather than over-analyze socio-cultural issues, especially in an animated movie of a long-time beloved franchise.