The new Netflix movie Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, starring Shannon Purser and Noah Centineo, is being criticized for their portrayal of a character pretending to be deaf.
Model, activist, and past DWTS winner Nyle DiMarco, who is deaf in real life, took to Twitter to speak to the issue.
“So one of my close friends’ deaf brother is in Sierra Burgess When I learned, I was elated. Finally more deaf actors/representation & ASL inclusion in films … Only to find out the deaf character was written and used for a terrible joke. PS- pretending to be deaf is NOT ok,” Nyle tweeted over the weekend. “There were homophobic and transphobic jokes as well.”
“It is extremely easy to make jokes about marginalized/disfranchised groups … but that makes you a lazy writer,” he continued. “And honestly you shouldn’t make these jokes AT ALL because our lives are on the line.”
So one of my close friends' deaf brother is in Sierra Burgess
When I learned, I was elated. Finally more deaf actors/representation & ASL inclusion in films
… Only to find out the deaf character was written and used for a terrible joke.
PS- pretending to be deaf is NOT ok.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) September 9, 2018
It is extremely easy to make jokes about marginalized/disfranchised groups
… but that makes you a lazy writer.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) September 9, 2018
And honestly you shouldn’t make these jokes AT ALL because our lives are on the line.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) September 9, 2018