The right has already chosen the upcoming Betty Boop film as the next tentpole of its anti-woke discourse.
Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson will star as Boop in a live-action film on which she is collaborating with the grandson of the character’s creator, Max Fleischer, Variety announced on Wednesday.
The film, which Variety reports is currently in development, will follow the character’s origin from the perspective of her creator, Fleischer. The film will be the character’s first big-screen appearance since the 1930s.
“Betty Boop is one of our nation’s most beloved cartoon characters, yet somehow still remains pleasantly niche,” Brunson said in a statement. “I realized there was a much deeper story to tell. One that could be explored in a way that feels refreshing, subversive, and timeless, much like Betty herself.”
Fleischer said in his own statement, “When Quinta first approached me with the unique concept of a movie about the relationship of my grandfather, Max Fleischer, and his creation, Betty Boop, I was breathtaken.” He continued, “Quinta so embodies Betty’s love of life, intelligence, humor, sassiness, and compassion that the relationship between her as Betty and Max burst into life at its mere mention.”
Despite Fleischer’s approval, MAGA was less than impressed.
Fresh off a new wave of emotional collapse over the casting of Lupita N’yongo as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey, MAGA commentators have turned their ire to Brunson’s project, flooding social media platforms with complaints about “race swapping.”
“There is only one reason to bring back an iconic piece of Americana just to race swap it like this,” raged Matt Walsh on X. “Even a faithful Betty Boop reboot probably wouldn’t sell many tickets. A race-swapped Betty Boop has absolutely no chance of success. But they do it anyway out of spite. They aren’t even trying to make money. It’s just pure resentment.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Brunson for comment.
Walsh has led a chorus of naysayers decrying Brunson’s role, accusing Hollywood of “race-rage baiting to no end with their woke DEI antics.” Some have begun trolling Brunson’s account with photos of “the real Betty Boop.”
Though the iconic cartoon character is fair-skinned, Fleischer does not attribute her to any one person. The closest inspiration for Betty Boop’s signature voice and “Boop-oop-a-doop” catchphrase was Esther Jones, a Black jazz singer who performed under the stage name “Baby Esther” at Harlem’s Cotton Club in the 1920s, according to the New York Times reporting on a trial over Boop’s origins from 1934.
Fleischer was sued by a white singer named Helen Kane in 1932, who alleged in a $250,000 lawsuit that Fleischer and Paramount had copied her scat persona for the character. Ultimately, the court ruled that Kane had copied Jones’s style, and the case was dismissed.
Still, MAGA insists, “Hollywood needs to end the wokewashing!” and “STOP replacing WHITE people,” by removing Brunson from the role, which was most often voiced by white actress Mae Questel.
Not all reactions have been negative. Wrote one fan on X who summed up brewing excitement for the film, “Keep your dumba-- racist discourse to yourself. Quinta is absolutely a perfect casting choice for Betty Boop,” with others on the platform noting a resemblance between the real-life star and the character.
