Catherine Zeta-Jones Is Whitewashing A Role That Could Be Played By An Actual Latina

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones attends the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards in January 2018.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is neither Latina nor Hispanic, and yet the Welsh actress is set to portray Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco in Lifetime’s original movie “Cocaine Godmother.”

Blanco was one the the most notable figures of the Medellin Cartel in the ’70s and ’80s and a pioneer in the Miami-based cocaine trade. She was killed in 2012 at the age of 69.

The Lifetime film, which premieres Saturday, aims to tell Blanco’s life story with Zeta-Jones in the starring role. A trailer released in November shows Zeta-Jones portraying the ruthless Blanco with a thick accent.

Ahead of the movie’s premiere, people have begun to express anger over the character’s whitewashing.

Was driving and saw this billboard and said the myself, “Nah, this can’t be real. They couldn’t find not one Latina to play this role?”

"Oh yes. Let’s let get our Welsh friend Cathrine Zeta Jones to play a Colombian drug-lord." pic.twitter.com/N6m8d78fQz
— alex medina (@mrmedina) January 15, 2018

Word sooo many bad ass Latina Actresses out there and they chose Catherine Zeta Jones to play Griselda Blanco 🙄 ...she’s pretty and a good actress and all but still, there are so many Latinas out there that could have played the part
— drayuhhh.makeup (@infra5tructure_) January 16, 2018

Totally disgusted that Catherine Zeta-Jones is playing Colombian Griselda Blanco of Medellín Cartel infamy. @lifetimetv couldn’t find a Latina actress? Tired of us being so hyper-marginalized, both on big & small screen, in front & behind the cameras. https://t.co/I7144tHZ0z
— Raquel Cepeda (@RaquelCepeda) January 8, 2018

But my question is : WHY is Catherine Zeta-Jones playing Griselda Blanco when there is a plethora of talented Latina actors that could’ve played the role? who better to play a Latina badass than a LATINA? What’s up with that @lifetimetv ? She don’t even speak Spanish. Disgrace.
— Nicole Torres (@nicolemelina) January 16, 2018

I love Catherine Zeta-Jones but why is she playing a Colombian woman? There wasn’t any Latina actresses available? What about @EvaLongoria ? @salmahayek ? @JLo ? Or even @HereIsGina as a young Griselda. Come on @lifetimetv DO better #CocaineGodmother https://t.co/1QgFRXLXPj
— Art(uro) 👨🏻💻 (@r2d2dbest) January 4, 2018

More surprising than Zeta-Jones’ casting, perhaps, is the amount of individuals on Twitter who say they’ve always thought the actress was Latina.

The actress portrayed a woman of Spanish descent in 1998′s “The Mask of Zorro,” opposite real-life Spaniard Antonio Banderas. The role is likely why many fans believe the star is of Latino or Hispanic descent.

I’m genuinely surprised by how many people thought Catherine Zeta-Jones was Latina. pic.twitter.com/dgsUnALWnh
— alex medina (@mrmedina) January 16, 2018

For the longest time I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones was Latina because of the movie Zorro, but nope she’s Welsh. Now she’s playing the Cocaine Godmother and idk how to feel about it in hindsight. She’s a great actress though.
— agent K (@yougo_GlennKiki) January 5, 2018

Lifetime greenlighted “Cocaine Godmother” in May 2017.

Fans who want to watch a film about Blanco starring a Latina actress can wait for HBO’s TV movie. The network announced Jennifer Lopez would be portraying the Colombian drug lord in August 2016, though little has been announced about the project since.

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