Even when taken in the context of the long history of mind-boggling awful notes from studio execs who care about nothing but dollar$, this one stands on its own as a bad take.
In a newly published Q&A on the Focus Features site, Harriet screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard explains how, back in 1994, when he was trying to get Harriet off the ground, a Hollywood studio executive said, “‘This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.'”
Now, if you’re into giving people the benefit of the doubt, you might be thinking that maybe the executive didn’t know who Harriet Tubman was, which is, of course, a crime unto itself. But this person apparently had their heart set on the Pretty Woman star playing the former slave who became one of the most important abolitionists in American history.
“When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet,” Howard says in the interview, “the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.'”
It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.
Deep sigh.
Of course, Twitter weighed in.
Imagine being Julia Roberts, minding your business, and then you log in to Twitter . . .
I give you **drum roll** the new Harriet Tubman Twenty.#HarrietTubman #JuliaRoberts pic.twitter.com/rO8cn0i2qY
— Chris Beffa #CeasefireNOW (@chrisbeffa) November 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/sonofdusable/status/1196992659212115968
When Julia Roberts finds out why everyone on the Internet is talking about her right now: pic.twitter.com/rDFxzljzJy
— hellresidentNY 🖤 (@hellresidentNY) November 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/ChristineFox/status/1197033499070357504
Remember that time Scarlett Johansson almost played a transgender man in a movie and pushed back against the backlash for a while, before finally pulling out? The internet sure does.
“They wanted Julia Roberts over ME!?!?” https://t.co/nmp9fTaiDs pic.twitter.com/tjSh5cEe7y
— X (@XLNB) November 20, 2019
they said Julia Roberts OVER SCARLETT JOHANSSON, our melanin queen!? pic.twitter.com/uFJqIaRbQV
— ᴜɴғʀɪᴇɴᴅʟʏ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ʜᴏᴛᴛɪᴇ 🫶🏾 (@urunfriendlyblk) November 20, 2019
Then there are those who weren’t so shocked, given Hollywood’s history of white-washed casting.
Can’t believe that some studio head wanted to cast Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman! pic.twitter.com/LM1yBF1XiR
— Nancy Wang Yuen (@nancywyuen) November 20, 2019
And finally, there are these.
reading about studio execs suggesting Julia Roberts play Harriet Tubman like 30 Rock didn't already do this !? pic.twitter.com/CtxNts0QIE
— Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) November 20, 2019
This is the same energy I would’ve needed from 1994 Julia Roberts if they’d greenlit her as Harriet Tubman pic.twitter.com/X9PotQMflP
— X (@XLNB) November 20, 2019
Gonna tell my kids this is Julia Roberts pic.twitter.com/EKCO3jcGzJ
— Jenniggafer Hopez (@Asia_Bean) November 20, 2019
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