Comedian Amy Schumer Backs Out Of Controversial Live-Action ‘Barbie’ Film
Funny woman Amy Schumer has reneged on plans to bring Barbie to life in a still upcoming live-action movie, according to a report from E! News.
In a self-penned statement given to the entertainment publication, the 35-year-old former Inside Amy Schumer hostess revealed her decision to step away from the project after scheduling issues forced the actress to reconsider her lead position in the film, which she also co-wrote.
.@amyschumer exits the live-action "Barbie" movie https://t.co/BLm9T5qvGH pic.twitter.com/6eLWYoqaQH
— Variety (@Variety) March 24, 2017
“Sadly, I’m no longer able to commit to Barbie due to scheduling conflicts,” Amy remarked about stepping down.
“The film has so much promise, and Sony and Mattel have been great partners. I’m bummed, but look forward to seeing Barbie on the big screen.”
Reps for Sony Pictures would return Schumer’s kind thoughts in a statement of their own.
“We respect and support Amy’s decision,” their note read.
“We look forward to bringing Barbie to the world and sharing updates on casting and filmmakers soon.”
Originally composed by film writers Hilary Winston and Kim Caramele before Schumer was allowed to tweak its theme, the big-screen visual was mentioned by Deadline as being based around an “eccentric” member of the Barbie collective who finds her way into our everyday existence and realizes that she’s not as different as others make her out to be.
“After leaving Barbieland, ” the E! News post further shares, “she ends up in the real world and makes all types of new discoveries, causing her to have an important realization: The only key to happiness is to love yourself and stop trying to climb toward an unattainable standard of perfection.”
While the subject matter and PG-rating of Barbie seemed sensible enough, many took offense at the thought of the somewhat-raunchy Schumer possibly interjecting some of her own comedic ideas into the character and let the performer know this through crass comments about her weight.
In retaliation, Amy took to her Instagram profile last December to fire back at the “trolls” who lambasted the film well before production ever began on it.
“Thanks to everyone for the kind words and support [about Barbie],” Schumer wrote alongside a picture of herself in a bathing suit, “and again, my deepest sympathy goes out to the trolls who are in more pain than we will ever understand. I want to thank them for making it so evident [why] I am a great choice [to play Barbie]. It’s that kind of response that let’s you know something’s wrong with our culture and we all need to work together to change it.”
“We need to laugh at the haters and sympathize with them,” she went on to state.
“They can scream as loud as they want [but] we can’t hear them because we are getting s**t done. I am proud to lead by example. ‘I say if I’m beautiful, I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story. I will.”
During a December 2016 interview on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote her memoir, The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo, Schumer once again touched on the Barbie backlash and reiterated how the outcry proved that she was the perfect person to portray the doll on-screen.
“Online [bullies] are in more pain that we can possible imagine,” she expressed, as the Hollywood Reporter noted.
“For women of all ages there’s no one too young or too old to understand. It never stops and it really has to be about knowing who you are. Every day I look in the mirror and I’m like, ‘I can work with this b***h.'”
Amy Schumer’s Barbie replacement has yet to be announced.
[Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images & Cheryl Gerber/AP Images for Mattel]
