Rooney Mara casting as Tiger Lily sparks criticism

Nearly 8,000 people signed a petition calling for Warner Bros. to ditch Rooney Mara, a white actress, who was cast as Native American princess Tiger Lily in an upcoming Peter Pan adaptation. Warner Bros. announced Mara will play Tiger Lily in a Joe Wright-directed version of the children's classic, opposite Hugh Jackman and Garrett Hedlund. The petition calls it "shameful" to cast a white woman in the traditionally Native American role. "This casting choice is particularly shameful for a children's movie. Telling children their role models must all be white is unacceptable," the petition reads. The frustration with the casting choice has also made its way over Twitter after Native Max magazine executive managing editor Johnnie Jae started the hashtag #NotYourTigerLily. In her tweets on the topic, she said that not only should a Native American actress be cast in the role, but that the role itself is stereotypical and damaging to women. @TheBakerTwins @ShannonBaker @_AJGibson @kristenbrockman Honestly, it's not just the casting but the character herself that needs revamping.— Johnnie Jae (@johnniejae) March 18, 2014