The Netflix Show "Uncoupled" Removed A "Hurtful And Derogatory" Role After Veteran Actor Ada Maris Spoke Out
BuzzFeed
2 min read
Netflix is dropping a role from Neil Patrick Harris' upcoming comedy Uncoupled after it received backlash from an actor auditioning for the part.
Santiago Felipe / Getty Images
The show follows a successful fortysomething professional in New York who has to navigate the dating scene after his husband of 17 years suddenly walks out on him.
Earlier this year, veteran actor Ada Maris was sent the show's script and asked to read for a Latina housekeeper character named Carmen — and she was shocked.
Dominik Bindl / Getty Images
Ada, who is Mexican American, says the role was well over the line into offensive, especially during a time where nuanced characters and authentic portrayals of Latinx communities are much more prevalent.
John Sciulli / Via Getty Images
In the script, Carmen is characterized as "nearly hysterical on the phone" and speaks in broken English with lines like, "Mister, I just get here and they stole! They rob you!"
"When I opened it and saw that it wasn’t even funny — it was hurtful and derogatory — I was shocked because I walked in expecting something very different given the way things are nowadays and the progress we’ve made," Ada told Variety.
Prashant Gupta / FX Networks / courtesy Everett Collection
Ada was so outraged that she went on to write an open letter to the show's creators, Neil and Darren Star, and it actually made a difference.
"Sometimes people have to sit with the discomfort. I would hope they would rethink this. I would hope they would recognize the harm that it does to everyone. Both to people who are Latino and people who are not," Ada said.
Carmen was later not listed as a supporting character in an October announcement and now Netflix has confirmed that the character has been dropped from the show.
"We’re sorry that Ms. Maris had a negative experience, and this character will not appear in the series," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
Ada added that by speaking out she hopes to "encourage the creative community to be vigilant about stereotypes."
Dominik Bindl / Getty Images
"I just want (writers) to think the next time they write a character like that. I’m speaking out for the younger actors coming up so they face even less of that than my generation has," Ada said.
Dominik Bindl / Getty Images