Lee Daniels took to Instagram on Thursday [December 8], to decry criticism he received over the casting in his new Fox drama, Star. The show, set to debut following the Season 3 mid-season premiere of his acclaimed Empire series on December 14, will feature actress Jude Demorest in the lead role. Daniels' choice to make a white woman [Demorest], the face of his latest project, has reawakened some who've long questioned how the award-winning director/producer dealt with race in his work and drawn the disfavor of numerous entertainment writers.
"I wake up to all these blogs that are talking about me putting a white girl at the center of the show to heal America. And that I don't understand racism, or I don't see racism in America," Daniels recorded himself saying, in a message he delivered to followers from his bedroom. "Of course, I see racism in America. I'm a 57-year-old Black man. Duh! Why? Haters [are] gonna hate, man. I can't win on this one. You know what I mean?"
Earlier this week Daniels appeared on The Real, where he explained the premise of the musical production to involve a multicultural girl-group trying to make it in the industry. Daniels elaborated on how, in Star [Demorest] having a sister on the show who is half-Black, and with her being socialized among Black people, he's got faith that her character will appeal to audiences across the racial spectrum. "Because I felt that the country, instinctively, I thought, needed to heal," Daniels said of the rationale behind having Demorest narrate the story. "When we understand that we're all one, we will then understand America."
Source: instagram.com
