LGBT advocates call for a boycott and critics pan 'whitewashed' Stonewall movie as the director defends making a fictional white man the lead

  • Roland Emmerich is addressing the backlash he has received from members of the LGBT community and critics over his new film Stonewall
  • Many take issue with the fact that the lead actor in the historic drama is a white gay man and fictional character
  • A majority of those involved in the historic civil rights riot were lesbians, drag queens or transgender - and most were non-white
  • This has led to claims Emmerich whitewashed this major moment in LGBT history
  • 'You have to understand one thing, I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people,' said Emmerich in an interview
  • He then added; 'As a director you have to put yourself in your movies, and I’m white and gay'
  • A petition to  boycott the film on the Gay-Straight Alliance network website has 25,000 signatures 

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:05 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 14:16 EST, 25 September 2015

Roland Emmerich is addressing the massive backlash he has been receiving from members of the LGBT community and critics following the release of his new film Stonewall.

The biggest complaint among both critics and advocates is that Emmerich whitewashed the film, choosing a young, white, gay man as his protagonist and not featuring enough non-white or transgender characters.

Furthermore, the character at the center of the historical film - Danny - is fictional, and not based on an actual person. 

'You have to understand one thing,' said Emmerich in a recent interview. 

'I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people.'

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Trouble: Roland Emmerich (above) is addressing the backlash he has received from members of the LGBT community and critics over his new film Stonewall

Trouble: Roland Emmerich (above) is addressing the backlash he has received from members of the LGBT community and critics over his new film Stonewall

Problem: Many take issue with the fact that the lead actor in the historic drama is a white gay man and fictional character (seen above)

Problem: Many take issue with the fact that the lead actor in the historic drama is a white gay man and fictional character (seen above)

Speaking with Buzzfeed Emmerich added; 'I kind of found out, in the testing process, that actually, for straight people, [Danny] is a very easy in. Danny’s very straight-acting. He gets mistreated because of that. [Straight audiences] can feel for him.'

He then added; 'As a director you have to put yourself in your movies, and I’m white and gay.' 

This upset many, especially given the number of non-white, lesbian and transgender people who were not fictional that were very much a part of the historic civil rights riot.

It also lead to a petition to boycott the film which already has close to 25,000 signatures - and the movie does not even open until Friday. 

'To all considering watching the newest whitewashed version of queer history it is time that black and brown transwomyn and drag queens are recognized for their efforts in the riots throughout the nation,' reads the petition on the Gay-Straight Alliance Network website. 

'From the preview alone, we know that will not be happening . Majority of characters casted are white actors, cis men play the role of transwomyn, and folks who began the riots do not seem to be credited with such revolutionary acts.

'WE ARE CALLING A BOYCOTT OF STONEWALL. Do not throw money at the capitalistic industry that fails to recognize true s/heros. Do not support a film that erases our history. Do not watch Stonewall.'

Truth: A majority of those involved in the historic civil rights riot (above) were lesbians, drag queens or transgender - and most were non-white

Truth: A majority of those involved in the historic civil rights riot (above) were lesbians, drag queens or transgender - and most were non-white

Cast: 'You have to understand one thing, I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people,' said Emmerich in an interview (Emmerich with the cast in Toronto above)

Cast: 'You have to understand one thing, I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people,' said Emmerich in an interview (Emmerich with the cast in Toronto above)

In an interview with Huffington Post, the film's star Jeremy irvine scoffed at the criticism the film has been receiving, saying it was coming from 'people who haven't seen the movie.'

That does not seem to be the case however, as many critics have been brutal in their reviews of the film. 

'Turns out, Stonewall is perhaps even worse than some feared it would be - more offensive, more white-washed, even more hackishly made,' writes Richard Lawson in his review for Vanity Fair. 

'It’s so bad that it’s hard to know where to begin a catalogue of the film’s sins.'

In his review for The Wrap, Alanso Duralde writes of the film; 'Not all historians agree on the details of the event, when patrons of the Stonewall Bar fought back against police harassment on the night of June 28, 1969, but it’s generally understood that the main participants were drag queens, trans people, butch lesbians and people of color. 

'Naturally, the film’s hero is a hunky blond boy: Indiana-raised Danny who decamped to New York City when his football-coach dad found about his son’s secret relationship with the quarterback.'

And writing for Slant, Richard Scott Larson says; 'At its worst, the film dangerously repackages the queer experience using language invented by those originally deployed to break it apart.'

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