Alexandra Shipp has hit back at criticism surrounding her casting in the ‘X-Men’ franchise.
The 26-year-old actress landed the role of Storm in the 2016 movie ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ and will reprise the coveted character in the upcoming ‘Dark Phoenix’, which is due out in February next year.
But Alexandra’s casting in the role was met with criticism after some people claimed she didn’t have "dark enough skin" for the character, and she has hit back at the comments, claiming she had always believed the comic book character "looked like me" when growing up.
She said: "[I tweeted back] at people who criticized me for not having dark enough skin for my role in ‘X-Men’ because we’re not going to have this conversation about a cartoon character. You’re not going to tell me that my skin color doesn’t match a Crayola from 1970. Growing up, when I was reading the comics, I pictured her looking like me. For any black girl, for there to be a black superhero, we picture them looking like us."
And Alexandra insists she would "never" darken her skin tone for a role, and believes bagging the role of Storm and her alter-ego Ororo Munroe was her "moment" as an actress.
She added to Glamour magazine: "When I auditioned for the role, I wasn’t like, ‘Oh man, I’m not dark enough.’ I was like, ‘Finally, this is my moment.’ I’m not playing Harriet Tubman with a prosthetic nose and darkening my skin tone. I would never do that."
At the time of her casting in the franchise, Alexandra took to Twitter to defend herself when she told critics the debate was "stupid".
She wrote: "This conversation about Storm is so stupid, I’m out…. If I lose my job to another actress, I hope it’s for her talent and grace, not her skin [colour]. (sic)"
Alexandra Shipp hits back at X-Men casting criticism
