Loren Anthony, a member of the Navajo Nation, who walked off the set of The Ridiculous Six in protest of its depiction of Native people. Photo from Instagram
Actor Adam Sandler describes his upcoming film as "a pro-Indian movie" despite controversy over the way it depicts Indian people, particularly women. In The Ridiculous Six, Sandler portrays a "mixed-race" character. His mother in the film is supposed to be an Indian woman and some of the jokes and scenes surrounding her character prompted a handful of Indian actors to walk off the set in New Mexico earlier this year. "It’s really about American Indians being good to my character and about their family and just being good people," Sandler told Screen Crush in his first reported comments on the issue. "There’s no mocking of American Indians at all in the movie. It’s a pro-Indian movie." The cast features a handful of Native actors -- including Danny Trejo (Yaqui) and Saginaw Grant (Sac and Fox) -- and dozens of Native Americans served as extras on the set Except for Trejo, however, none of the primary characters are portrayed by Native people. So hopefully when people see it — whoever was offended on set and walked out, I hope they realize that, and that’s it," Sandler told Screen Crush. "It was kinda taken out of context." The film will debut on Netflix in December. Get the Story:
Adam Sandler on ‘Ridiculous Six’ Native American Controversy: ‘It’s a Pro-Indian Movie’ (Screen Crush 7/18)
Sandler says he wasn’t trying to offend Native Americans (AP 7/19)
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