Will Smith has been slated to play the role of Richard Williams, the father and first coach of tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams, but his casting has sparked controversy, as some purists say his skin is “not black enough.”

‘King Richard’ will tell the rags-to-riches story of Williams, who began training his daughters in tennis from an early age to see them become two of the most successful players in history.

But the fact that Williams happens to have a darker skin tone than Smith has broken political correctness rules in Hollywood and online, where a certain cohort who appear to be permanently offended by one thing or another, are complaining that Smith is the wrong shade of black. Yes, really.

While we love us some Will Smith, we're gonna have to pass on him playing Serena Williams' father for the upcoming biopic 'King Richard' (for obvious reasons). But me & @iRunWithLula have come up with five other incredible black actors who are better fit for the bid. A THREAD: — my name isn’t via (@viasimone_) 5 марта 2019 г.

For the love of all that is holy, where will it end? WILL SMITH IS NOW THE WRONG SHADE OF BLACK. pic.twitter.com/zVG7JVujZZ — Damian Counsell (@DamCou) 5 марта 2019 г.

“Will Smith isn’t black enough”. Welcome to 2019 everybody. — Ryan (@46Rain2) 5 марта 2019 г.

Hollywood is no stranger to race controversies. Everyone already knows that it’s probably best if white actors play white roles, black actors play black roles and Asian actors play asian roles. Actress Emma Stone found that out the hard way after playing an Asian role in ‘Aloha’ in 2016 and facing major backlash for the misstep. But now it seems that choosing a black actor for a black role is not quite good enough — and even promoting “colorism.”

Colorism matters..love will Smith but there are other black actors for this role https://t.co/qrV1QuBiJH — Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) 5 марта 2019 г.

Well, Will Smith just doesn't match the skin colour of Richard Williams, you have to concede that 😉 pic.twitter.com/VZ2ukvk05t — Fabienne (@fabilusi) 5 марта 2019 г.

What’s next? Australian actors won’t be allowed to play American characters? (Sorry Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, new rules!) Older actors won’t be allowed play younger roles? Straight actors won’t be allowed to play gay characters? Gay actors won’t be able to play straight roles?

Identity politics does seem to be pushing things in that purist direction. Scarlett Johansson recently abandoned a transgender role after serious backlash from the outrage police because she herself is not transgender. Similarly, black actress Zoe Saldana was accused of wearing “blackface” for her use of makeup when she played jazz musician Nina Simone in a 2016 biopic.

In the case of Smith, some Twitter warriors even offered that an “unknown” actor should be given a shot in the major Hollywood biopic. Another suggested that “literally any actor” with the correct shade of skin should have been given the role — suggestions sure to appeal to the production studio, which no doubt only cares about the artistic value of the movie and not the fact that Smith is one of the most acclaimed and bankable actors in Hollywood who can attract a wide audience.

Obviously nothing against Will Smith, but why is he playing Venus and Serena's Father?? Yes, the man can act but for the love of God there are dark-skinned Black men that can act too. They can get one these men to do it or maybe even give an unknown actor a shot. pic.twitter.com/CTdxVTMT2v — Neysha 🔜 #SXSW (@La_Ney_sha) 5 марта 2019 г.

Literally any actor whose Fenty foundation shade is 430 and up should have this opportunity — Eboni (@CocoaGoddess) 5 марта 2019 г.

But the complaints about Smith went even further than his race. There were actually complaints that Smith’s personality does not quite match that of Williams — but, is that not the whole point of “acting?”

And besides the skin tone, Will Smith and Richard Williams are two completely different dudes philosophically. Will preaches a gospel of how everything will conspire to help you reach your goals. Richard's gospel is that of achieving despite the fact the world wants you fail — Beyonce has an uncle named Larry Beyince. Bruh.... (@DragonflyJonez) 5 марта 2019 г.

Luckily, others did inject some logic and reason into the debate, pointing out that there was no discussion about “colorism” on other occasions when Smith played the roles of real-life people with darker skin than his.

Some of you are BEYOND ignorant. Will Smith is a phenomenal actor and I believe he will do a great job portraying Richard Williams. Have you forgotten that Will also portrayed Chris Gardener in the Pursuit of Happyness? Stop it with the colorism and ignorance. pic.twitter.com/f3qV3NXMEX — S. Marlene Wimberly (@2BGMEDIA) 5 марта 2019 г.

Will Smith isn't black enough to play a blackman, you guys are ridiculous — Ryan hunts (@RyanhuntsM) 5 марта 2019 г.

Adding some much-needed humor to the ‘scandal’, one commenter joked that Smith, who has also been cast for a role in Aladdin “can't possibly play the role of a fictional blue genie.”

Indeed, totally outrageous. Where are all the blue actors?



While we're at it, can we talk about Will Smith being cast to play Aladdin? A light-skinned black actor can't possibly play the role of a fictional blue genie. pic.twitter.com/s7XLXhM0oz — Colin Joseph (@handhygienepro) 5 марта 2019 г.



to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.

