Adam Sandler Movies: Native Americans Walk Off Film Set After Racially Insensitive Humor
After several insults to Native American women and elders, about a dozen Native actors walked off the set of "The Ridiculous Six," which is being produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison, including the Native cultural advisor, who was commissioned to make the movie as culturally accurate and tastefully representative as possible.
According to Indian Country Today Media Network, there were two cited instances where the script called for two women to have distasteful names. The names were "Beaver's Breath" and "No Bra," and it featured one of the Apache women squatting and smoking a peace pipe while urinating.
The movie is only scheduled to be released on Netflix and will have no theatrical release.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has dismissed the report about the walk-off.
"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," Netflix said in a statement released.
As reported on Indian Country Today, among the actors who walked off the set were Loren Anthony and Allison Young. They are both Navajo Nation tribal members. Young was a film student at Dartmouth, and Anthony is the lead singer of Bloodline, a heavy metal band.
"I was asked a long time ago to do some work on this and I wasn't down for it. Then they told me it was going to be a comedy, but it would not be racist. So I agreed to it but on Monday things started getting weird on the set," Anthony said.
Young was also offended by the stereotypes and outright disrespects paid to her people by the film's directors and producers.
"We talked to the producers about our concerns," Young said. "They just told us, 'If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.' I was just standing there and got emotional and teary-eyed."
Those who walked out on the project also said their costumes did not accurately portray those of the Apache, which were who they were supposed to represent.
Neither Adam Sandler nor any representative from Happy Madison have commented on the matter.