Hollywood's Whiteness Problem Continues: The Audrey Hepburn Biopic Casting Controversy
The recent announcement that Lily Collins will portray Audrey Hepburn in an upcoming biopic has reignited conversations about representation, privilege, and the systemic exclusion of marginalised voices in Hollywood's storytelling apparatus.
Collins, known for her role in the problematically white-centric "Emily in Paris," will star in a film chronicling the making of Hepburn's 1961 "Breakfast at Tiffany's," based on Sam Wasson's book "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's and the Dawn of the Modern Woman."
Deconstructing the Casting Industrial Complex
The entertainment industry's casting decisions reflect broader structures of privilege and access that systematically marginalise BIPOC performers and other underrepresented communities. While fans of Ariana Grande have expressed disappointment over the casting choice, the controversy reveals deeper issues within Hollywood's gatekeeping mechanisms.
Collins herself acknowledged the decade-long development process, writing on Instagram: "It's with almost 10 years of development and a lifetime of admiration and adoration for Audrey that I'm finally able share this."
The Problematic Legacy of "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
It's crucial to contextualise this biopic within the problematic elements of Hepburn's filmography. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" itself perpetuated harmful stereotypes, most notably Mickey Rooney's grotesquely racist portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi, which exemplified Hollywood's long history of yellowface and anti-Asian racism.
The film's romanticisation of a character who could be read as a sex worker also raises questions about how Hollywood has historically commodified and sanitised complex female experiences for mainstream consumption.
Beyond Individual Casting Choices
While Grande's supporters mobilised on social media platforms, expressing sentiments like "Ariana was BORN to play Audrey," the focus on individual disappointment obscures the structural inequities that determine who gets access to prestigious roles and career-defining opportunities.
The entertainment industry's continued reliance on established networks of privilege means that performers from marginalised communities, including LGBTQIA+ artists, neurodivergent actors, and disabled performers, remain systematically excluded from major biographical projects.
Interrogating Nostalgia and Icon Worship
The obsession with recreating "Golden Age" Hollywood through biopics reflects a broader cultural tendency to mythologise periods that were characterised by extreme exclusion and oppression. This nostalgic lens often erases the experiences of those who were denied access to these supposedly glamorous spaces.
Rather than perpetually recycling stories of white Hollywood icons, the industry could centre narratives of resistance, highlighting the contributions of marginalised performers who challenged systemic barriers despite facing institutional discrimination.
As Collins prepares to embody Hepburn while continuing her work on "Emily in Paris," audiences and critics alike must interrogate what stories we choose to tell and whose voices we amplify in our collective cultural memory.