Jeremy Irvine Responds to 'Stonewall' Movie Boycott Threats

Jeremy Irvine, the star of the upcoming movie Stonewall, is responding to LGBT activists who have called for a boycott of the film.

Director Roland Emmerich has been accused of “whitewashing” for revolving the plot of the historical drama around a fictional white, cisgender male protagonist.

“To anyone with concerns about the diversity of the #StonewallMovie, I saw the movie for the first time last week and can assure you all that it represents almost every race and section of society that was so fundamental to one of the most important civil rights movements in living history,” Jeremy wrote on his Instagram account.

“Marsha P Johnson is a major part of the movie, and although first hand accounts of who threw the first brick in the riots vary wildly, it is a fictional black transvestite character played by the very talented Vladimir Alexis who pulls out the first brick in the riot scene,” he continued. “My character is adopted by a group of street kids whilst sleeping rough in New York. In my opinion, the story is driven by the leader of this gang played by Jonny Beauchamp who gives an extraordinary performance as a Puerto Rican transvestite struggling to survive on the streets.”

Make sure to watch the movie trailer for Stonewall if you haven’t yet!

Click inside to read the rest of Jeremy Irvine’s open letter…

“Jonathan Rhys Meyers‘ character represents the Mattachine Society, who were at the time a mostly white and middle class gay rights group who stood against violence and radicalism. I felt incredibly nervous taking on this role knowing how important the subject matter is to so many people but Roland Emmerich is one of the most sensitive and heartfelt directors I’ve worked with and I hope that, as an ensemble, we have not only done such an important story justice but also made a good movie as well.”