ABC’s upcoming comedy pilot Maggie is facing criticism after actress Rebecca Rittenhouse landed the lead role, which was originally written for a Latinx actress.
The project is a remake of Tim Curcio‘s short film of the same name, which feature a white lead, but the television series was intended to feature a Latinx actress in the role, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Variety reported that the show is about “a young woman who is trying to cope with her life while she comes to terms with her abilities as a psychic.”
Latinx actresses spoke to EW about being auditioning for the role and being told they weren’t funny enough. They also say the network is now trying to find a Latinx actress for the best friend character.
“It’s so challenging for Latinx actors to find work in Hollywood as it is, but it’s a real slap in the face when a project centers on us then changes their mind as if we didn’t matter,” one actress told the outlet. “Many of us know each other and those of us who auditioned were told we weren’t funny enough. Really, none of us were funny? Now they’re scrambling to hire one of us to play the lead’s best friend. Maggie went from centering on a Latinx character to relinquishing us back to playing the friend. When will Hollywood wake up?”
Another actress said, “It’s one thing to write a Latinx character and a whole other situation when writing an open ethnicity character. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the announcement this morning because I was excited about the potential of a new Latinx show being greenlit for network television. The point is not that I didn’t get the role, but that they seem to prefer to erase us than invest the time to finding the right actress.”
The last time we saw Rebecca, she was stepping out with her famous boyfriend, though it’s not clear if they’re still together.
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