Two petitions are calling for a boycott
of director Roland Emmerich's upcoming gay rights drama Stonewall.
The petitions went up soon after
Tuesday's online release of the film's trailer.
(Related: First
Look: Roland Emmerich's gay rights drama Stonewall.)
Both accuse Emmerich of “whitewashing”
queer history.
“It is time that black and brown
transwomyn and drag queens are recognized for their efforts in the
riots throughout the nation,” a
GSANetwork.org petition reads. “From the preview alone, we
know that will not be happening.”
“A historically accurate film about
the Stonewall Riots would center [around] the stories of queer and
gender-noncomforming people of color like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P.
Johnson. Not relegate them to background characters in the service
of a white cis-male fictional protagonist,” a Move
On petition reads.
The film follows Danny Winters (played
by Jeremy Irvine) as he arrives in New York City and becomes
increasingly involved in the burgeoning gay rights movement. The
film's trailer shows Danny throwing a brick through a window as the
protests become increasing violent.
In a Facebook post, Emmerich, who is
openly gay, responded to the controversy.
“The courageous actions of everyone
who fought against injustice in 1969 inspired me to tell a
compelling, fictionalized drama of those days centering on homeless
LGBT youth, specifically a young midwestern gay man who is kicked out
of his home for his sexuality and comes to New York, befriending the
people who are actively involved in the events leading up to the
riots and the riots themselves. I understand that following the
release of our trailer there have been initial concerns about how the
character's involvement is portrayed, but when this film – which is
truly a labor of love for me – finally comes to theaters, audiences
will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there
– including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Ray Castro –
and all the brave people who sparked the civil rights movement which
continues to this day,” he
said.
The film will have its world premiere
at next month's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and opens
in theaters on September 25.