Skip navigation

Angelina Jolie sparks casting controversy

Oscar winner to play biracial widow of slain Wall St. Journal reporter

Slideshow
Image:  Bill Richardson
  Breaking Barriers: U.S. minority leaders
From the first Hispanic governor (in 1853) to the first African-American to be elected president, learn about how ethnic barriers have been broken in the United States through the years.

more photos

Video: Race & ethnicity  
Plouffe: Campaign ‘didn’t focus on history’
Nov. 1: David Plouffe, Barack Obama's presidential campaign manager, shares memories of Election Day with NBC’s David Gregory on “Meet the Press.”

Slideshow
Image: Dr. Martin Luther King
  Martin Luther King Jr.
See the civil rights leader in speeches and marches from Alabama to Washington.

more photos

updated 6:06 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2006

Aug. 2 - Mariane Pearl might be delighted to have actress Angelina Jolie depict her in an upcoming movie, but some of you are outraged.

Pearl is the tan, biracial widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, whose memoir, “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl,” will be adapted into a motion picture by Brad Pitt's production company.

The film, simply called “A Mighty Heart,” will tell of Pearl's experience after her husband was abducted by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in early 2002. A month later, his captors released a video depicting his murder. Pearl, who is reportedly of Afro Cuban/Dutch heritage, was pregnant with their son Adam at the time.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Since the news came out a few weeks ago, message boards across the Internet have been on fire, expressing harsh criticism about Jolie playing the role of Pearl. On BET.com's own boards, user chantejoy calls the very idea a "new generation of Hollywood in blackface."

“With talent such as Halle Berry, Thandie Newton and Jennifer Beals available — just to mention a few — what is Hollywood's excuse for casting a white woman this time?” she asks. “Anyone who has seen a photo of Mariane Pearl can tell she is a woman of color.”

© 2009 BET.com. All rights reserved.

Sponsored LinksGet listed here
Online College Courses
Boost your career with an online Degree. Pick from Leading Colleges!
www.EarnMyDegree.com

Sponsored links

Resource guide