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Peter Dinklage says the new ‘Snow White’ live-action casting is hypocritically ‘woke’ because of the dwarf characters

Peter Dinklage attends the UK premiere of “Cyrano” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on December 07, 2021 in London, England.Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images Actor Peter Dinklage says the upcoming “Snow White” remake is hypocritically “woke.” He said the studio was “very proud” to cast a Latina actress but kept the “backward story” of dwarves. Dinklage has spoken before about the negative impact of stereotypes that dwarf actors deal with. Actor Peter Dinklage says he was “taken aback” by what he sees as hypocrisy in the plan for Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of “Snow White” starring Latina actress Rachel Zegler.While speaking with comedian Marc Maron on his “WTF” podcast, Dinklage said: “It makes no sense to me, because you’re progressive in one way and then you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarves living in a cave.The subject came up after Dinklage and Maron spoke about the effect of current politics on comedy and the premise that there is “woke” comedy versus “anti-woke” comedy (something Maron says is “fucking ridiculous”).”If you consider yourself anti-woke, then you’re carrying water for right-wing propaganda and I think that you’re a hack,” Maron said. “Because the job is to think for yourself. If you can’t find your voice in a world of diversity and respect, then what are you really? And if you can’t transcend that by being respectful but still provocative, then you’re not really challenging yourself are you?”He continued: “Things evolve. You can be as crass and as fucking vulgar and as fucking provocative as you want without saying a couple of words. There’s a lot of words we don’t say anymore! This whole idea that we can’t joke about anything has been around since the beginning of comedy.””I know,” Dinklage said in response. “There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on, I gotta say. From being somebody who’s a little bit unique, I’ve got a front row seat to some —””Like what? What do you see?” Maron asked.”Well, you know, it’s really progressive to cast a — literally no offense to anybody, but I was a little taken aback by [how] they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White,” Dinklage said. “But you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.” He continued: “It makes no sense to me, because you’re progressive in one way and then you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarves living in a cave. What the fuck are you doing, man?””Snow White.”RKO Radio PicturesDinklage then affected a bit of an accent, adding a hint of humor to his tone as he alluded to the “cause” of advocating against dwarf stereotypes.”Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box?” he said as Maron started laughing. “I guess I’m not loud enough.”He said he has “all love and respect” to Zegler and the people who “thought they were doing the right thing,” but he still felt the move was hypocritical. “If you tell the story of ‘Snow White’ with the most fucked-up, cool, progressive spin on it — let’s do it!” he said.Maron then spoke about how the “Snow White” reboot was a “no brainer” because the studio could “win by appearing to be progressive by casting a Latina and run money through this story again.””I don’t think anybody has ever probably, other than what I just heard just now, said ‘You know the dwarf community is tired of this shit,'” Maron said.”Is there one? I don’t know,” Dinklage said. “It’s such a minority. I’m not affiliated with any groups or anything but it’s such a minority that it causes a real, ‘Well who the fuck cares?'”In 2018, while starring in the HBO film “My Dinner with Hervé,” Dinklage spoke with Entertainment Weekly about how opportunities for dwarf actors might have changed in Hollywood since the ’80s. He emphasized that he wouldn’t want to be critical of others’ choices, and that he knows bills must be paid, but said certain stories can perpetuate harmful tropes. “Not to get too political about it, but it’s a stereotype that still exists,” he said. “Dwarf tossing still exists. There are still people of my size dressing up as elves at Christmas time. And if everybody continues to do that, then it won’t stop. But my daughter doesn’t think I’m a mythical creature. Unicorns don’t exist, but I do. It’s tricky, what we put out there, to perpetuate for future generations.”Dinklage is now starring in “Cyrano,” a retelling of a classic tale, which arrives in theaters on February 27. Read the original article on Insider
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Written by: insider@insider.com (Kim Renfro)