Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was flooded with anti-Exodus comments as Rupert Murdoch made things worse by supporting the “all-white” cast of the upcoming movie Exodus: Gods and Kings. According to Murdoch, the cast of Exodus is genuine because the Egyptians were actually white and “far from black.”
Murdoch’s comment invited backlash
Things got worse when Murdoch backed up his statement, saying, “They treated the blacks as slaves.” The statement over Twitter invited criticism from Murdoch’s 535,000 followers, after which the 83-year-old media baron asked them to “calm down” and changed the subject.
Murdoch decided to shield the movie from criticism, as his own company, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA), made the movie. The forthcoming movie is an adaptation of the Old Testament book of Exodus, which tells the story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. There was an outrage over the leads in the movie, as some viewers said that the cast is all white, including Christian Bale as Moses, Joel Edgerton as Ramesses II, and Sigourney Weaver as Tuya.
Those protesting against the cast of the movie include Tariq Nasheed, a director of the Hidden Colors documentary series. Viewers are stating that this movie is an attempt to redefine the history. Nasheed wrote on Facebook that the story has been set in ancient Africa, but all the African kings and gods are played by white actors, and all the slaves, thieves and “lower class” Egyptians are played by black actors.
“Moses film attacked on Twitter for all white cast,” he announced. “Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are.”
Twitter became the battleground
Murdoch’s tweet was retweeted more than 2,300 times and invited rage and anger in response. One person asked whether Murdoch knows any ancient Egyptians, and another asked Murdoch to elaborate, adding the hashtag #SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreWhiteEgyptians.
To this backlash, Murdoch replied that even though Egyptians are Middle Eastern, they are not black, and also they were treated as black slaves. After a little debate, Murdoch responded that there are many shades of color and nothing racist about it.
Realizing that the tweets won’t end, Murdoch asked Twitter users to change the subject, but that didn’t help either, and users kept poking Murdoch about his statements.
