Seth Rogen has issued an apology after photos of a child wearing what appears to be blackface on the set of his new movie Good Boys leaked.
“I should start by saying this shouldn’t have happened, and I’m terribly sorry it did,” Rogen told IndieWire. “I won’t give excuses for why it happened. I’ll just say that as soon I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it — and I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again. I’m engaging in conversations to make sure I find the best way to do that. It’s on me to be proactive. Reacting isn’t enough.”
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Refinery29 has reached out to representatives for Rogen for comment and will update with more information as it becomes available.
The issue centered around a stand-in for an actor in the movie, 11-year-old Keith L. Williams, wearing dark makeup on set.
TMZ first released the photos and spoke to sources connected with the film’s production company, Good Universe, who said that using makeup to match actors’ complexions for lighting purposes is “not uncommon.”
But a director of photography told IndieWire that such methods are rarely as “extreme” as what was seen on the Good Boys set.
“It is important for me to cast a person with similar complexion and physical stature to the actors they are standing in for,” the source said to IndieWire. “In regards to makeup, I’ve seen wigs used and powder to take down shine, but maybe not as extreme as what is being suggested here. I personally would never ask for someone to be made up in a darker tone.”
In any case, at least one person on set was reportedly made uncomfortable by the incident and filed a complaint to the film’s producers, according to IndieWire.
Good Boys, set for a 2019 release, centers around a group of pre-adolescent boys who are tasked with fixing a toy before their parents come home. It also stars Jacob Tremblay.
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