After a few setbacks and some recasting, the trailer for The Hate You Give, has finally been released and on Sunday viewers got a first look of the film at the BET Awards.
The movie is based on the novel of the same name inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The film also stars Issa Rae, Algee Smith, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie and Common.
—For many immigrant families, the fight for reunification is just beginning—
According to the official synopsis: Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what’s right. The Hate U Give is based on the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller by Angie Thomas and stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, K.J. Apa, Lamar Johnson, Issa Rae, Algee Smithand Sabrina Carpenter, with Common and Anthony Mackie.
Ahead of the movie, Kian Lawley, the actor cast in the upcoming film The Hate U Give alongside Amandla Stenberg, was fired after being exposed in a shocking racist video.
The film was already shot and in post-production, when producers made the call to recast Lawley’s character and reshoot his scenes.
“Due to the controversy surrounding his past comments and behavior, Kian Lawley will no longer appear in The Hate U Give. The studio plans to recast the role of Chris and reshoot scenes as needed,” said a spokesperson for 20th Century Fox in a statement.
Lawley, a YouTube star, played the boyfriend of the film’s Black protagonist (played by Amandla Stenberg).
We’re all black drinking purple Kool-aid’
In a clip that surfaced online, Lawley is seen using the N-word in a profanity-laced racist tirade. “We’re all black drinking purple Kool-aid and eating Kentucky fried motherf**king chicken,” he says.
—Antwon Rose’s parents break their silence: ‘He murdered my son in cold blood’—
After the clips surfaced on social media, Lawley unsurprisingly received swift backlash with many calling from him to be cut from the project, which was filmed last fall in Atlanta.
The online outrage escalated further after fans of Lawley came to his defense, arguing that people were mad over nothing and that the videos in question were filmed years ago.
Some even tried to change the narrative by blaming, and even threatening The Hate U Give author Angie Thomas.
The author shared her excitement about the project on social media when the trailer dropped.
I’m a black girl from Mississippi who sometimes didn’t have lights. Sometimes my family was on welfare. I’m straight from the hood, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
The trailer just dropped for a movie based on a book I wrote.
Nothing is impossible.
With that, bye Twitter ?
— T’ChAngie Thomas (@angiecthomas) June 25, 2018
The Hate U Give premieres on October 19.