Apparently, people found NBC’s The Wiz Live racist.
#TheWiz is trending on Twitter right now, but not just because fans saw Mary J. Blige, NeYo, and Uzo Aduba remake the classic Wiz movie. But, because people are calling the show “Racist”.
The highly anticipated live TV show that was praised by critics when NBC aired a three hour version of the Broadway musical The Wiz on Thursday night. Howeve, even though the 1975 production was written to feature an all-black cast, and the network stayed true to the movie’s script, social media fired into a major frenzy when people called the production racist.
Several of the viewers went to Twitter to express how upset they were about the event, accusing NBC of being discriminatory.
I just learned there is a black version of The Wizard of Oz called “The Wiz” – how is this not racist?
— Evan (@MJTM) November 23, 2015
For those thinking #TheWiz was racist for its lack of white actors, you’re the reason we can’t have nice things.
— Autismw/asideoffries (@FrenchFryInc) December 4, 2015
Now accepting applicants that are only white to remake the movie Barbershop. We’re calling it Supercuts. #TheWiz
— Chester Marcol (@chesterisback) December 4, 2015
But many fans fired back.
Weird. I saw MORE white people in #TheWiz live than I saw black people in Sound of Music Live AND Peter Pan Live-COMBINED Hi haters *waves*
— CandaceTX (@CandaceTX) December 4, 2015
The number of people asking why there isn’t an all-white cast version of #TheWiz is not zero. pic.twitter.com/zWw8cc4Dv1
— David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) December 4, 2015
So if an all black cast is racist, what is an all white cast acting like Egyptians? #thewiz racist
— Greg Mouton (@randomgregness) December 4, 2015
NBC have not yet commented on the complaints. But, its most likely the complainants did not realize that The Wiz, a loose adaptation of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, was written as a retelling of the classic story from an African-American context, Buzzfeed reported.
