Contributed by Gillion Machota
News has broken that YouTuber and actor Kian Lawley will no longer be starring in the film adaptation of the best-selling YA novel, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Kian Lawley had made his start on YouTube before becoming an actor but it was his YouTube days that became the reasoning for the decision.
The video that sparked Lawley’s leave was of him saying the n-word multiple times in a video two days ago with another YouTuber. Lawley was to play Starr’s boyfriend in T.H.U.G until Fox released a statement saying,
“Due to the controversy surrounding his past comments and behaviour, Kian Lawley will no longer appear in ‘The Hate U Give’.
Lawley has now made a series of statements on his Twitter:
“if u don’t learn from ur mistakes, u can never grow as a person. i’ve learned a lot & i am grateful to have the power to change. i never want to be who i was yesterday. we’re in a constant battle to become a better version of ourselves, use ur voice as ur weapon.” [Tweet 1]
“First of all, I am deeply sorry to those that were effected by my choice of language. I understand that I am in the public eye & have many supporters, but none of my actions that took place should be supported. Words have power and can do a lot damage. I own mine and I am sorry.” [Tweet 2]
“I respect Fox’s decision to recast this role for The Hate U Give as it is an important story, and it would not be appropriate for me to be involved considering the actions of my past. I understand the impact and I have grown a lot and learned since then.” [Tweet 3]
“With that being said, I am fully aware of the mistakes I have made and strive every day to become a better me than I was yesterday. We all have a voice, whether it’s big or small, we need to use it to spread love & light. From now on, I plan to use my voice for positive change.” [Tweet 4]
Lawley has also starred in other movies including Before I Fall, which is another film adaptation of Lauren Oliver, and The Chosen. He is also starring in the television adaptation of Zac and Mia, which is scheduled for another season. However, no information about him being on the second season has been released.
Fox has also said that they will recast Lawley’s character and will reshoot scenes if at all necessary.
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