"Hey, Beaver's Breath."
On set, going to brawl out with Nick Nolte. #TheRidiculousSix #NickNolte #NMfilm #NM #film #SAGfilm #LasVegasNM #movies #NativeActor #Acting #Actor #hollywood #Comedy #NativePride #NativeAmerican
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I guess I should cue this up with two warnings: you're going to hear a lot of lame Native American jokes that caused people to quit a new straight-to-Netflix Adam Sandler movie. Also, this will probably spoil all the best jokes in the new straight-to-Netflix Adam Sandler movie. C'est la vie.
A dozen Native American actors walked off the set of Adam Sandler's new project, The Ridiculous Six, a spoof of The Magnificent Seven (itself an homage to The Seven Samurai) after reading several offensive jokes and feeling dissatisfied with the accuracy and respectability of their costumes.
Examples included giving female characters names like Beaver's Breath and No Bra, as well as less-than-dignified behavior like a woman squatting to pee in the middle of a peace pipe ritual. There were also "feathers inappropriately positioned on a teepee," but I suppose you'll have to wait for the Netflix release to find out whatever the heck that means.
Down time with my bro #SaginawGrant on set of #TheRidiculousSix He and I both met when we filmed the lone ranger. Great guy and awesome dude to work with. #NativePride #Comedy #film #movielife #NM #Fitfam #NativeAmerican #indigenous #SAGfilm #OnSet #Actors #longhairdontcare
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Several actors spoke to Indian Country Today Media Network about their decision to leave the set. Loren Anthony (whom they note is the lead singer in a metal band, Bloodline) said he declined to work on the film at first because he was worried it would be offensive, but relented when producers said they had hired a consultant to help the movie portray Native Americans tastefully, "but on Monday things started getting weird on the set." You can see his Instagram account throughout this article, and it's depressing to think how disappointed he must have been, seeing how pumped his captions were.
"If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave."
Speaking of their costumes, Anthony said they looked "really stereotypical and we did not look Apache at all. We looked more like Comanche." That complaint was on the smaller scale, however, compared to some of the jokes at Native American women's expense.
"There was a female character called Beaver's breath," said Anthony, "One character says 'Hey, Beaver's Breath.' And the Native woman says, 'How did you know my name?'" I'd just like to take this moment to point out what a pitch-perfect retelling of a crappy joke that is. I feel like I'm right there, cringing next to Sandler himself.
Nothing better than a white woman to fix my hair before sunrise. #RiseAndGrind #Comedy time. Shooting my scenes this week with Adam Sandler in the upcoming film #TheRidiculousSix Thankful to be able to bring laughter to the big screen. #SAGfilm #OnSet #film #NewMexico #NativeActor #Acting #NativeAmerican #NativePride #fitfam #gains #beastmode #thegrindneverstops
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Another actor, Alison Young, also was nervous from the first, but tried to see if the people in charge would listen.
"When I began doing this film, I had an uneasy feeling inside of me and I felt so conflicted. I talked to a former instructor at Dartmouth and he told me to take this as finally experiencing stereotyping first hand. We talked to the producers about our concerns. They just told us, 'If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.' I was just standing there and got emotional and teary-eyed... Nothing has changed. We are still just Hollywood Indians."
Well, that's pretty much the exact thing you're not supposed to say in that situation. At least they're not being compared to Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder by extremely sympathetic 74-year-old Choctaw man, right?
"They were being disrespectful," said 74-year-old David Hill, Choctaw, who also left the set. "They were bringing up those same old arguments that Dan Snyder uses in defending the Redskins. But let me tell you, our dignity is not for sale."
Hanging out with Adam Sandler, viewing take backs from today's scenes. Having a good time, great cast, great crew and feeling blessed to be here. #NativePride #Comedy #AdamSandler #NM #film #SAGfilm #LasVegasNM #movies #fitfam #gains #beastmode #NativeActor #Acting #Actor #indigenous
A photo posted by Loren Anthony (@lorenanthony) on
If I were Sandler's media team, I'd work on burying the hatchet ASAP. Especially with Mr. Hill: "I told the director if he had talked to a native woman the way they were talked to in this movie—I said I would knock his ass out."
Please head to ICTMN to read more interviews with the actors and get more information on this story in their extensive writeup.