Actor Jack Whitehall (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for BFI)
The public is overwhelmingly in favour of straight actors being able to play gay parts, polling has found.
Voices within the LGBT+ community had voiced concern with the casting of straight actor Jack Whitehall as Disney’s first ever gay character in upcoming movie The Jungle Cruise.
Critics have suggested a long string of LGBT+ actors who would be better suited for the part than Whitehall, the privately-educated son of a producer and talent agent.
Jack Whitehall onstage at The BRIT Awards (Gareth Cattermole/Getty)
The backlash is similar to that against Armie Hammer’s casting in Call Me By Your Name.
But polling has found that despite concerns within the community, the public at large doesn’t think it’s an issue.
A YouGov poll in the UK looked into the debate, asking: “A heterosexual actor has been cast as the first major gay character in a Disney film. Which of the following statements comes closest to your view?”
The polling found that 70 percent of people believe “it is acceptable for a heterosexual actor to be cast in this part,” while just 12 percent believe “A gay actor should have been cast in this part.”
18 percent answered “Don’t Know,” possibly inflated because the question did not provide for people who don’t think the part is acceptable.
A majority of every demographic answered that the casting was acceptable, but young people were significantly more likely to doubt the casting.
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