The Casting of Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' Sparks Controversy

Emerald Fennell‘s choice to solid Jacob Elordi in Wuthering Heights has raised eyebrows in the UK.

Deadline revealed on Monday that Elordi and Margot Robbie will star in the Emily Brontë adaptation as Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Saltburn director Fennell is ready to write down, direct, and produce, with filming going down in the UK subsequent yr.

Heathcliff’s ethnicity is famously ambiguous in Brontë’s 1847 novel, however there may be some consensus that his description as a “dark-skinned gipsy” — in addition to his abandonment as a child on the slave port of Liverpool — doubtless means he was not white.

Commenting on Elordi’s casting, Michael Stewart, director of the Brontë Writing Centre, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “With Wuthering Heights, you’ve had many years of white actors playing the more ambiguous ethnic character… But things are different now, the way we represent certain people in art and culture comes with a responsibility now that wasn’t there 20 years ago.”

Heathcliff was performed by Tom Hardy, for instance, in a 2009 tv adaptation of Wuthering Heights for UK broadcaster ITV. Andrea Arnold’s 2011 film, nonetheless, solid James Howson in the position.

Dr Claire O’Callaghan, editor-in-chief of the official journal of the Brontë Society, instructed the Telegraph: “I guess the danger of this – of casting a white actor – particularly in the cultural climate, is that it overlooks the ambiguity that’s there.”

The feedback of Stewart and O’Callaghan adopted criticism on social media. In a post that has been viewed more than 7.5M times, one person of X (as soon as Twitter) wrote: “Heathcliff is described as a dark-skinned brown man in the book and a major plot point is that he was subjected to racist abuse by his adopted family. But yeah sure Jacob Elordi is perfect!”

Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent movie critic, requested: “Did anyone actually read the book before deciding this?” Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, one other critic, added: “White Heathcliff and 34-year-old Cathy, and they both look like they belong on Instagram. I’m obsessed.”

The unique novel by Brontë is taken into account by many to be one of the good items of literature. The unique story follows two households, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and the turbulent relationship they've with the Earnshaws’ foster son, Heathcliff.

Fennell’s reps have been contacted for remark.