Bradley Cooper’s latest movie, ‘Aloha,’ an 'insult' to Hawaiian culture, critics say

Bradley Cooper’s upcoming film,

Aloha,

is already facing blowback, with critics slamming the movie over its “whitewashed” version of Hawaii.

The Media Action Network for Asian-Americans, or MANAA, recently released a statement to the New York Post regarding the film's apparent casting of primarily white actors over native Hawaiians, saying that Aloha makes Hawaii look "99 percent" white. In actuality, Hawaii is closer to about 27 percent white.

"This comes in a long line of films — The Descendants, 50 First Dates, Blue Crush, Pearl Harbor — that uses Hawaii for its exotic backdrop but goes out of its way to exclude the very people who live there." MANAA co-founder Guy Aoki wrote in the statement. "It's an insult to the diverse culture and fabric of Hawaii."

The Cameron Crowe-directed flick, Aoki continued, also included only minor roles for native Hawaiians, most of which are characters without names. Instead, those roles are listed as "upscale restaurant guest," "Indian pedestrian," and so on.

"How can you educate your audience to the 'rich history' of Hawaii by using mostly white people and excluding the majority of the people who live there and who helped build that history?" Aoki asked in his statement.

Interestingly, however, despite MANAA's criticisms, an unnamed Aloha source told The Hollywood Reporter that the film "centers on the spirit of the Hawaiian people" and that "no member of MANAA has yet to see the film."

This, of course, is just the latest hiccup in the Aloha saga. Last year, emails from the massive Sony leak revealed that then-Sony chairwoman Amy Pascal had serious concerns over the movie's arduous production. Also, Cameron Crowe referred to Bradley Cooper as an "odd bird" and worried over his chemistry with co-star Emma Stone.

Despite those criticisms, however, Aloha is currently set for a May 29 release.

[New York Post | Hollywood Reporter]