Actor Jack Whitehall recently announced that he'll join the cast of The Jungle Cruise, the upcoming Disney film based on the Disney amusement park ride of the same name.
The Jungle Cruise, which also stars Emily Blunt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is supposed to hit theaters in October 2019, and filming is already underway.
"It’s so cool to be part of something of this scale," Whitehall wrote on Instagram. "And also as possibly one of the biggest Disney nerds on the planet so exciting to be working on a project with this much history."
Whitehall will reportedly play the openly gay brother of Emily Blunt's character.
And a lot of people took to social media to express their opinions.
why is jack whitehall playing disney's first openly gay character? https://t.co/xI2xCFc4U3
Some people weren't thrilled that Whitehall, a straight man, will be playing the first openly gay character in a Disney film.
Super excited about this huge moment for the LGBTQ+ family, and @jackwhitehall is amazing https://t.co/FwH4d7BZqZ BUT when so many gay actor friends of mine are turned down for straight roles because there’s a “whiff of gay”, it’s frustrating to cast NonGay people in gay roles
It’s not that it’s a problem to cast a fantastic straight ally to play a gay role, it’s that there are so many gay actors that are under represented in all sorts of roles across the board... and so I think that this is, fantastic, but also a bit sad 😔 #JungleCruise
If you’re one of the people who ‘doesn’t see the big deal’ RE Jack Whitehall, a straight white male cast as the first openly gay Disney character then you’re part of the problem 💁🏼♀️
Such a dam shame it’s so hard to find gay actors to play gay roles in hollywood 🙄. Do better @disney @jackwhitehall https://t.co/QUQ3qbb8NZ
Really @Disney #JungleCruise ? Your first significant gay role will be played by a straight white man perpetuating stereotypes? Fail! This ship should sink. https://t.co/npPESNZaxD
While others didn't see an issue with it.
Are you kidding? It’s “acting” - why does his sexuality matter??? https://t.co/dbAkqBohpQ
Imagine being angry at the discovery that acting involves actors pretending to be people they aren’t. https://t.co/JaRObC2Lve
If Jack Whitehall playing a gay character is problematic, then so is Neil Patrick Harris playing the straightest character I've ever seen on a TV show, or Jim Parsons playing THE STRAIGHT Sheldon Cooper, or the cast of Black Panther because they're American not African
wait... how come no one batted an eye when Nick Robinson, a straight man, played a gay character in Love Simon? but now y’all fake outraged over Jack Whitehall playing a gay character just cause it’s a disney movie, I have to laugh
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Whitehall's representatives for comment.