Why Thandie Newton turned down 'Charlie's Angels' (2000) role

[TMC]

Thandie Newton in case you're wondering, was supposed to play the role that ultimately went to Lucy Liu:

Thandie Newton says she dropped out of a blockbuster movie role 20 years ago because she felt "objectified" in casting meetings.

The "Westworld" actor was originally meant to star alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in the 2000 film adaptation of "Charlie's Angels." It has been reported that Newton turned down the role of brainiac Alex Munday because "she was worried it would make her too famous," so Lucy Liu was hired instead.

But in a new interview with Vulture, Newton revealed that inappropriate, objectifying, and racist comments were made during meetings with the film's director and a studio executive.

"One of the biggest movies I didn't end up doing was because the director said to me, 'I can't wait for this. The first shot is going to be … You're going to think it's like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize it's the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass it's going to look like tarmac.' I was like, 'Oh, I don't think we're going to go down this road together,'" she said.

Newton later clarified that the movie in question was "Charlie's Angels," which was directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol, known professionally as McG.

Newton also accused Amy Pascal, a Sony executive at the time, of pressuring her to turn the character into more of a Black stereotype.

"I had a meeting with her, and she said, 'Look, I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but the character as written and you playing the role, I just feel like we've got to make sure that it's believable,'" Newton explained. "I was like, 'What do you mean? What changes would you have to make?'"

"She's like, 'Well, you know, the character, as written, she's been to university and is educated,'" Newton continued. "I'm like, 'I've been to university. I went to Cambridge.' She went, 'Yeah, but you're different.' She's like, 'Maybe there could be a scene where you're in a bar and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty.' She's basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a Black character."

"Everything she said, I was like, 'Nah, I wouldn't do that.' She's like, 'Yeah, but you're different. You're different.' That was Amy Pascal. That's not really a surprise, is it? Let's face it: I didn't do the movie as a result."

[TMC]

Nia Long reveals she was discriminated against in auditions for Charlie's Angels after Thandie Newton spoke out about her experience

Just over a week after actress Thandie Newton spoke out about her bad experience auditioning for the 2000 film Charlie's Angels, Nia Long is speaking out as well.

Newton, 47, said last week she turned down the Alex Munday role that was ultimately given to Lucy Liu, after a meeting with then-Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal, who wanted to use black stereotypes to make her character more 'believable.'

Long, 49, revealed in a Wednesday interview with Insider that she didn't get the Alex Munday role because she 'looked too old' opposite Barrymore, even though Long is just four years older.

'I was like, "What?" I love Drew Barrymore, I think she's amazing, but I think that was just a nice way to say you're a little too Black,' Long said.

Ironically, the role went to Lucy Liu, who is two years older than Long, who revealed what her agent told her.

'The feedback that I received from my agent was, "She just looked too old and sophisticated to be next to Drew Barrymore,"' Long said.

'And I'm thinking to myself, it's an actor's choice to walk in the room how they want to look, but it's a director's vision to help create and curate a character,' she added.

'So if you couldn't see beyond the fact that I had on a blazer and a pair of jeans then that was clearly not the job and opportunity for me. So, no problem, I'll keep it moving,' Long said.