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'Dear White People' Cast Take On Trolls Calling For Netflix Boycott

Trump supporters were behind demands to cancel subscriptions.
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By 

Deputy Director of News & Analytics, HuffPost

Who knew a 30-second clip about the problem with offensive Halloween costumes could cause such backlash? 

Enter the trailer for Netflix’s upcoming series “Dear White People,” a 10-episode comedy set to premiere April 28 by Justin Simien. The show, based on Simien’s 2014 hit indie flick of the same name, is about the racial issues that arise on a fictional Ivy League campus when a racist fraternity holds a blackface dance party. 

Apparently, some were not OK with the message. Twitter users, many of whom profess their fondness for President Donald Trump or the alt-right in their bios, began tweeting about boycotting Netflix and canceling their subscriptions after the trailer debuted Wednesday, calling it “anti-white” and “racist.”

But those behind the series are speaking out against calls for a boycott.

“Equality feels like oppression to the privileged and thus three benign words send them into a fight for their very existence, which happens to it actually not [being] in any real danger,” Simien said, per IndieWire. “This is how a minute long date announcement becomes a distorted call for white genocide in the minds of some people. Despite all signs to the contrary.”

The show has no racist intent, he insisted. 

“I’m not the first artist to use a misnomer as a title and I reject any notion of ‘causing a divide’ simply by stating that one exists,” he continued. “Which is my role as artist. To state what is. But if facts and common sense can not wake us up from our delusions and distorted ways of seeing, what can? Stories. Stories teach us empathy. They reveal to us ourselves in the skins of others. Our entire concept of reality is stories. So tell your story. Come out of the closet. Write your thesis. Make your film. But do it honestly. Tell the inconvenient truth. It is the only thing that has ever saved us. So while it was fun engaging the trolls but it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. The harder thing is to listen and present what is.”

He also took on Twitter trolls. 

Actress Logan Browning, who stars in the series as college radio host Samantha White, tweeted that many of the critics who have given the show rave reviews thus far are, in fact, white. 

Others are thrilled for the show’s debut, including writer Jack Moore. 

Since the trailer was posted on YouTube Wednesday, it already has over 500,000 views. 

Before You Go

2016 Movies Available On Netflix
"The Jungle Book"(01 of12)
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Hollywood's bloated franchise obsession is running thin, but Disney's live-action reboots of its animated classics keep getting better. 2016 brought us "The Jungle Book" and "Pete's Dragon," two surprisingly meditative takes on orphan boys surviving in the wilderness with their animal pals. Netflix recently signed a deal to acquire Disney's new releases, so "The Jungle Book" has already hit the streaming service. Boot up Jon Favreau's majestic adventure -- featuring the voice work of Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken -- for a beautifully rendered take on the bare necessities of life. [Trailer] (credit:Disney)
"The Invitation"(02 of12)
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This deceptive chiller begins with a dinner party that reunites a group of friends at a nice home in the Hollywood Hills. It ends with a cultish quest for survival that comes to one of 2016's most inventive culminations. Directed by Karyn Kusama ("Girlfight," "Jennifer's Body"), "The Invitation" buries themes of grief and salvation in a story of menace and terror. [Trailer] (credit:Drafthouse Films)
"13th"(03 of12)
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"Selma" director Ava DuVernay has crafted a must-see polemic that proves America is not as far removed from its slavery roots as we'd like to believe. Tracing a thin line between a loophole in the 13th Amendment that paved the way for segregation and mass incarceration, DuVernay profiles a dark facet of history via interviews with civil rights leaders, politicians and others who strip away partisan divides to show that everyone is responsible for the struggles plaguing modern race relations. [Trailer] (credit:Netflix)
"Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You"(04 of12)
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In creating socially pointed sitcoms like "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Maude," Norman Lear redefined television. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have made an inspired documentary that explores the legend's life, from his childhood and World War II service to his pop-culture contributions and political activism. Along the way, you'll see remarkable footage from 1970s writers rooms, a fascinating exploration of race in prime-time entertainment and an ode to a voice that helped to reshape modern culture. [Trailer] (credit:Music Box Films)
"White Girl"(05 of12)
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Comparisons to "Kids" and "Spring Breakers" befit Elizabeth Wood's edgy drama about a privileged New York City undergrad (Morgan Saylor) who entertains herself by hanging around a jailbait drug dealer (Brian Marc). She develops a penchant for cocaine and easy sex. Her class status and good looks mean she rarely considers consequences, making "White Girl" a frenzy of youthful endurance. When her druggie pal is arrested, she goes to extremes to prevent him from spending decades behind bars. [Trailer] (credit:FilmRise)
"Barry"(06 of12)
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Netflix snatched up the exclusive rights to "Barry" after its Toronto Film Festival bow in September. Vikram Gandhi's affecting biopic dramatizes Barack Obama's start at Columbia University. The year is 1981. Everyone calls him Barry. Armed with cigarettes, Ralph Ellison books and no political ambition whatsoever, Obama struggles with his biracial identity and the aftermath of an absent father. The movie is a beguiling hindsight exploration of a man whose self-examination would later embed him at the center of American history. [Trailer] (credit:Netflix)
"Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids"(07 of12)
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Several years before he directed "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Philadelphia," Jonathan Demme made "Stop Making Sense," the acclaimed concert film about the Talking Heads. Years later, he gave Neil Young a similar treatment. In 2016, Demme made "Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids," another enlivening look at a lucrative arena tour. Filmed on the closing night of Timberlake's 20/20 Experience roadshow, Demme spends just enough time with the singer and his band behind the scenes to make their onstage presence all the more seductive. He emphasizes the minutiae of a pop concert while highlighting the enveloping allure of Timberlake's theatrics. [Trailer] (credit:Netflix)
"Zootopia"(08 of12)
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"Zootopia" marked another win for Disney in 2016, crossing $1 billion at the global box office. On its face, "Zootopia" is the charismatic story of a bunny striving to prove herself in a society that questions rabbits' abilities as police officers. Beneath that is a parable about equality and a screed against xenophobia. It remains a surprisingly appropriate folktale for 2016. [Trailer] (credit:Disney)
"Under the Shadow"(09 of12)
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Coming to Netflix on Jan. 9, "Under the Shadow" is an Iranian horror movie that didn't earn enough attention when it popped through theaters last fall. Babak Anvari sheds a feminist light on the Middle East's female oppression in this tense thriller about a medical student whose daughter suspects an evil presence lurking through their apartment. As war explodes around them, the supernatural forces strengthen. But something even scarier occurs: Paranoia turns their every interaction into a walking nightmare, told through soft thrills and political tribulation. "Under the Shadow" has been aptly compared to 2014's "The Babadook." [Trailer] (credit:Netflix)
"The Little Prince"(10 of12)
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Using glorious stop-motion animation, "The Little Prince" looks and feels like a poetic watercolor reverie. Mark Osborne's adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic novel defies the onslaught of Hollywood kids movies that end with tidy bows. Instead, this story of a young girl whose overbearing mother dictates her prep-school future blossoms as our protagonist meets an elderly aviator who regales her with fantastical tales of his past. "The Little Prince" becomes a narrative about the disconnect between a life of cold calculations and one of outsized adventures. [Trailer] (credit:Netflix)
"Captain America: Civil War"(11 of12)
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The Avengers series grew up with "Captain America: Civil War," a politically thorny imbroglio that splits the Marvel superheroes into sparring factions. The results are no more coherent than any other contemporary comic-book adaptation, but the Russo brothers' universe-expanding saga featured some of the most thrilling action on screen last year. Case in point: a whirling 15-minute battle sequence on an airport tarmac. [Trailer] (credit:Disney)
"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"(12 of12)
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This one's on Hulu, not Netflix. But don't sleep on this underrated dramedy, whose misguided marketing campaign did it no favors at the box office. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" tells the true story of Kim Baker (Tina Fey), a low-rung television journalist who volunteers as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. The movie is far from perfect, but the trailers wanted you to think it was full of antics. Instead, it's a thoughtful romp about midlife restlessness that features Fey's best performance yet. [Trailer] (credit:Paramount)
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