Native Americans Walk Off Set of Adam Sandler Movie

He's filming a parody for Netflix
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 23, 2015 6:43 PM CDT
Native Americans Walk Off Set of Adam Sandler Movie
Adam Sandler is making a series of movies for Netflix.   (Hannah Yoon/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Adam Sandler is filming a comedy about the Old West for Netflix, but his Native American actors aren't laughing. About a dozen have walked off the set of the Ridiculous Six in New Mexico, reports the Indian Country Today Media Network. A cultural adviser also bailed. Those interviewed cited a slew of insensitivities, including character names such as Beaver's Breath and No Bra, an Apache woman who is shown urinating while smoking a peace pipe, and costume mistakes that reflect ignorance about the basic differences among tribes.

“We talked to the producers about our concerns," says a Navajo film student quoted in the report. "They just told us, ‘If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.’" So far, Netflix seems to be taking the same general attitude. In a statement cited by Entertainment Weekly, it says: “The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of—but in on—the joke.” The movie, one of four Sandler is doing for Netflix, is intended to spoof the Western classic the Magnificent Seven. (More Adam Sandler stories.)

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