Rupert Murdoch Defends ‘Exodus’ Anglo Cast, Says Egyptians Are White
21st Century Fox CEO and media mogul Rupert Murdoch is defending the Anglo-led cast of the upcoming Biblical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”
Murdoch, whose 21st Century Fox owns 20th Century Fox, the studio producing “Exodus,” took to Twitter to shed some light on the race of the ancient Egyptians.
Moses film attacked on Twitter for all white cast. Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) November 29, 2014
Everybody-attacks last tweet. Of course Egyptians are Middle Eastern, but far from black. They treated blacks as slaves.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) November 29, 2014
Okay, there are many shades of color. Nothing racist about that, so calm down!
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) November 29, 2014
SEE ALSO: Film Review: ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’
Ridley Scott’s film, which stars Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as his stepbrother, Ramses, has been attacked by critics and fans for its all-white cast. Our chief film critic Justin Chang addressed the controversy in his film review. “While these are problematic choices, dictated by commercial imperatives as old as Methuselah, they are also reservations one willingly suspends as the strength of the performances and the irresistible pull of the story take hold,” he wrote.
“Exodus” hits theaters on December 12.
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