Kristen Wiig on ‘Ghostbusters’ Backlash: ‘It Just Bummed Me Out’
When an all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters” was announced, many fans took to social media to decry the gender bending, and one of the new additions to the spirit-busting crew, Kristen Wiig, was not happy about the backlash.
In an interview with the LA Times to promote her new film “Nasty Baby,” Wiig revealed that she was “bummed” about the gender-focused controversy, and said this is the first film that she’s been a part of that’s garnered so much attention.
“The fact there was so much controversy because we were women was surprising to me,” she said. “Some people said some really not nice things about the fact that there were women. It didn’t make me mad, it just really bummed me out. We’re really honoring those movies.”
Paul Feig, who is directing the reboot, had a similar experience after the film was announced. Feig told Variety in March that Internet commenters wrote “some of the most vile, misogynistic s— I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“I figure it’s some wacked-out teenager,” he said of the Twitter commenters. “But almost constantly it’s someone who’s bio says ‘Proud father of two!’ And has some high-end job. You’re raising children and yet you’re bashing me about putting women in my movie?”
Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones will star along with Wiig in the new “Ghostbusters,” which hits theaters July 22, 2016.
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