‘Still My Dream Role’: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Hits Out At ‘Racist’ Backlash Over ‘Tangled’ Casting Rumours

Tamil-Canadian actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has been on the end of racist attacks on social media following speculations about potential casting choices for the role of Rapunzel in a live-action adaptation of “Tangled”.

Indian-American actor Avantika Vandanapu faced similar racist attacks recently after rumours spread that she would feature in the movie. Ramakrishnan responded to the attacks by saying that the movie that they are discussing about does not even exist.

The Never Have I Ever actor asked racists “to get a hobby”.

“And they finally woke up to realize it was all just rumors and the sources never existed. good job! And to the racists, y’all still need a hobby FR,” she said in a series of posts on the social media site.

She said ‘racist trolls’ who target actors, particularly those of South Asian descent, in fancasting discussions should remain ‘basement dwellers’. She said those trolling her for her wanting to be cast in the role of Rapunzel because of the color of her skin never go to the movies.

Rapunzel is a German fairy tale written by Wilhelm Grimm and Jacob Grimm, famously known as the Brothers Grimm and was first published in 1812. A section of the internet wants a white and blonde woman to be cast in the role of Rapunzel as the character is a German woman.

Those trolling also accuse Disney, the mass media and entertainment conglomerate who owns the Rapunzel marketing franchise, of wokeness and say it has destroyed the brand after the company cast actors who are persons of color as main protagonists for fairy tales.

“Like for any fancast you may have for any actor, South Asian or not, all the racist trolls can just stay basement dwellers. Y’all probably don’t even go outside to the movies anyway let alone touch grass,” she said.

Avantika Vandanapu also received racist reactions on social media and a section of netizens felt that an Indian woman with long black hair isn’t suitable for the role.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, however, said that it is one of her dream roles on several occasions. She told CBS in 2021 that the character should be played by a brown actor because brown girls or girls of South Asian descent know what it is like to not being able to get out from their homes.

“I think Rapunzel should be a South Asian girl. Because hear me out, no one knows what it feels like to be trapped in your room, not able to go out because your mother is telling you no, without giving you an actual proper reason like brown girls do. It’s true. That would be like a dream role for me,” she said.

“Also lol she’s still my dream role, been saying that since 2021,” Maitreyi reiterated on Wednesday.

The actor identifies as Tamil-Canadian and is the daughter of Sri Lankan Hindu Tamils who fled the Sri Lankan civil war. “I made it very clear to my agent and publicist that Tamil-Canadian is very, very important to me. My identity isn’t being Sri Lankan. That’s not my country. My country is Canada. But my culture is definitely Tamil. We’re displaced not by choice but by circumstances,” she said while speaking Now Toronto in 2019.