Daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian North West He is catching the heat yet Take the stage in the Memorial Day Weekend production of “The Lion King” at The Hollywood Bowl. The special live concert was a two-night event honoring the animated film’s 30th anniversary.
But North just didn’t have a role, she wasn’t covered up somewhere as “Giraffe Number One.” The 10-year-old was one of the stars, playing the role of young Simba and singing the hit song “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” Other celebrity guests include Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson, and Jason Weaver, who voiced Young Simba in the 1994 film.
Although proud mama Kim was beaming with pride in her daughter’s performance, the backlash on social media came fast and furious from those who thought North had no right to be in the lead role.
“I’m sorry, but casting North West in the role of Simba when there are hundreds of properly trained theater kids with voice coaches, dance skills, and experience was a terrible choice. It definitely makes you doubt the credibility of the casting director. You let Kim pay to sabotage your show. @_RichieDinero wrote on X.
But not everyone agreed with the outrage that North West cited her relationship with Kardashian to impede her role. Author Mark Lamont Hill has argued that nepotism is nothing new in Hollywood. When it comes to casting, he says, eyeballs and ticket sales often trump talent. I mean have you seen?stomach?“
“In every movie, in every play, in every area of popular culture, someone is casting someone who’s not good… We’ve been putting rappers in movies for the last 30 years… The reason we do it is because people are famous. And celebrities bring tickets. He told TMZ.
There are plenty of NEBO babes who deserve all the glam, including Zoe Kravitz, John David Washington, Rashida Jones, Maya Rudolph, and of course, Tracee Ellis Ross.
But whether tone deaf or not, the show’s producers knew what they were doing when they cast North in the role of Young Simba. We probably wouldn’t be talking about this production if it weren’t for all the chatter. And because people are talking about it now, more people will want to see (and judge) North’s performance for themselves when “The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl” premieres. Streaming on Disney+.
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