The actor defended his actress daughter Aurora from bullies who said she was not black enough to portray the African-American drummer Shana Elmsford in the movie.
- October 24, 2015
AceShowbiz -
Harold Perrineau blasted bullies who said his daughter Aurora Perrineau was not "black enough" for her role in "Jem and the Holograms". The former "Lost" star admitted that he was angry but asked the haters to channel their energy into creating content that better reflects them.
"The reason I'm so angry right now (and I'm sure that many people will be able to understand this) is that I feel like my daughter - MY CHILD - is being attacked," he wrote in an essay published on TheWrap. "She is being harshly and unfairly judged during a time when she should be relishing her accomplishments."
The 20-year-old budding actress' mother is white, which makes her half African-American. The character she's portraying in the movie is Shana Elmsford aka the African-American drummer, bass player, and singer. The animated series the movie is based on features Jem and the Holograms as a multiracial band which includes Jem and Kimber the white lead singer, Aja the Asian-American guitarist and Raya the Mexican-American drummer and backup singer.
"Can we stop looking to Hollywood to define who we are and find ways that we can define ourselves?" Perrineau asked, adding he hoped to "reach the folks writing these articles and pointing fingers at young artists like my daughter and get them to use all of that creative fire and create characters that look, sound and feel like yourselves."
He concluded, "We live in an incredibly creative time, where it may not be necessary to have big money and power to have your voices heard. Why not use your power there? Why not put out images you want to see for the reasons you feel are important."
"Jem and the Holograms", directed by Jon M. Chu, hits U.S. theaters on October 23.
