Michael B. Jordan Addresses FANTASTIC FOUR Internet Trolls
When Michael B. Jordan was cast in the role of Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, in the the new Fantastic Four movie, the internet was flooded with all kinds negativity toward the casting decision. It wasn't really surprising to see that. After all, this is the internet we’re talking about, and a lot of people expressed their disapproval.
The young and talented actor recently wrote a guest article for Entertainment Weekly in which he addresses the haters and internet trolls that came out to attack. Some of the things he said he saw on the internet were, “A black guy? I don’t like it. They must be doing it because Obama’s president” and “It’s not true to the comic.” Or even, “They’ve destroyed it!” I don't know about you, but I saw worse things than that.
In the article he says that he understands everyone’s perspective and that he can’t ask this kind of audience to “forget 50 years of comic books.” But he goes on to say that the world is more diverse than it was back in 1961, and that “if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, ‘You’re good. I’m okay with this,’ who am I to go against that?”
I've always been on board with Jordan being cast in the role. The guy is an amazing actor, and from what I’ve seen, it looks like he’s going to kick some ass in the role. The actor goes on to share his feelings saying:
“This is a family movie about four friends—two of whom are myself and Kate Mara as my adopted sister—who are brought together by a series of unfortunate events to create unity and a team. That’s the message of the movie, if people can just allow themselves to see it.
“Sometimes you have to be the person who stands up and says, ‘I’ll be the one to shoulder all this hate. I’ll take the brunt for the next couple of generations.’ I put that responsibility on myself. People are always going to see each other in terms of race, but maybe in the future we won’t talk about it as much. Maybe, if I set an example, Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other prominent roles, and maybe we can reach the people who are stuck in the mindset that ‘it has to be true to the comic book.’ Or maybe we have to reach past them.”
He concludes the piece by addressing the Internet trolls directly, saying:
“To the trolls on the Internet, I want to say: Get your head out of the computer. Go outside and walk around. Look at the people walking next to you. Look at your friends’ friends and who they’re interacting with. And just understand this is the world we live in. It’s okay to like it.”
Gotta respect the guy for taking a stance. What do you all think about what Jordan had to say in this article and being the one to shoulder all the hate?