Zendaya is one of the most popular Hollywood stars right now. When she was cast in a pivotal role in the movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, many fans of the movie expressed anger.
Despite fans’ anger and negativity, Zendaya got support from many of her fans, including Tom Holland. He praised her talent as an actor and also as a woman.
Zendaya’s Spider-Man Casting Unleashes Dark Side of Fandom
When Zendaya was cast for Spider-Man: Homecoming, there was a rumor that she would play the iconic character of Mary Jane Watson. Despite there being no official confirmation, some fans got angry over the news and trolled her for the role.
The reason fans gave over the trolling is that a guy who has superpowers can’t be with a Black Woman.
There have been similar instances of racist reactions when Halle Bailey was cast as the lead in “The Little Mermaid” and when Michael B. Jordan was announced for the role of Johnny Storm in the “Fantastic Four” reboot.
Even celebrities are not immune to recognizing the racism behind these reactions, especially when it comes to fictional characters.
With the rise of social media, it’s hard to anticipate which celebrity will become the target of online harassment or trolling.
James Gunn defends the idea of Zendaya as MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming — https://t.co/PRi8IxiObB pic.twitter.com/7HVJ2t4OyG
— Inverse (@inversedotcom) August 20, 2016
Tom Holland clearly supported Zendaya during the controversy, and he also talked about what the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” set was like during the shoot.
Tom, in an interview with Global Grind:
The thing is with Zendaya, she knows that, from being on set with her, everyone is always complimenting everyone. Everyone is so loving here. What I love about working for Marvel is how welcoming and kind everyone is. She has such a large following on Instagram, and the majority of those people are all for her, and all love her.
I feel like our generation of people are moving on past this whole idea you can’t cast someone who is not of the right race of a character and stuff. And I really think we’re breaking through and changing all of that. Z is perfect for it, she’s so powerful and so strong-willed, and it’s not going to shake her at all.
Tom had many good reasons to believe in Zendaya’s talent. Even though she played a small role in ‘Homecoming,’ fans loved her humor.
In the sequel, her character was announced as MJ Watson, but it had a little twist – this new character was different from the love interests of Tom as Peter Parker, and it had no direct connection to Spider-Man.
Zendaya and Holland: From On-Screen Romance to Hollywood Power Couple
Similar to the characters played by Tom and Zendaya in the series, both developed their characters in real life. They started dating each other in 2018. Paparazzi spotted Tom with Zendaya in 2021 while both were kissing each other.
Despite their best efforts to keep their relationship out of the public eye, Zendaya and Holland’s fame made it impossible to escape media attention.
Source: Globalgrind
