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Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Jafaican star Peter Andre breaks his silence on problematic movie's backlash
Peter Andre has spoken out about the backlash against his new film Jafaican, which sees the Mysterious Girl singer portray a wheeler-dealer who poses as a violent Jamaican gangster Singer-turned-actor Peter Andre has hit back at critics slamming his latest movie Jafaican, in which he stars as a faux gangster. The heartthrob behind Mysterious Girl takes centre stage in Fredi Nwaka's latest comedy romp – playing hustler Gary Buckle. The character tries to score a windfall by pretending to be mob boss Denton 'Kill Man' Powell donning a fake dreadlock wig and putting on a Jamaican accent. While Jafaican has garnered positive reviews since its unveiling, the flick has been marred by accusations of cultural appropriation and being labelled "tone-deaf" by some viewers. Nevertheless, Peter Andre rebuffed the backlash aiming at his latest venture. The pop icon advises skeptics: "I think it's very easy to criticise something based on a trailer. I would say: 'Go and watch the film first,' you will see what the film is about and you will see the context." He continued to tell the Daily Star: "A critic should also be able to criticise, so I understand how it is." Andre, acknowledging that the film won't be everyone's cup of tea, encouraged naysayers to view it before casting judgment. In defence of his work, Peter commented: "In regards to critics, I think it is really important for people to all have different opinions. "I don't think it is right to just expect everyone to like what you're doing, but I've always said that, you know, in anything I've ever done I've always had people saying: 'Don't do that, you shouldn't do that, that's not the right song to release, that's not a good video clip." The artist-turned-thespian, acclaimed for roles in the likes of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, David Brent: Life on the Road and Keith Lemon: The Film, divulged his reasons for embracing his latest character. Refusing to be swayed by naysayers, he stated: "If I sat and listened to everybody telling me what not to do, I would never have achieved anything! I think sometimes you have to just go outside of your comfort zone and push yourself." The movie chronicles the mishaps of a London crook who must scrape together £35,000 to pay for his grandmother's care home expenses. When he catches wind of a heist that could solve all his problems, Gary jets off to Jamaica, only to find himself in a downward spiral. As locals cotton on to his impersonation of Denton 'Kill Man' Powell to snare a fortune, Gary finds himself in a tight spot. 'Jafaican' is currently showing in select ODEON Cinemas. Peter's kids Princess and Junior were by his side at a recent a red carpet screening for his latest event in London saw the family attend the Genesis Cinema for the private VIP event, posing for photographs ahead of the much-discussed film's debut. While promoting the movie on Australian TV earlier in the month, Peter said of the criticism: "Well, to be fair, I mean, I think it's good to get all sorts of feedback. I mean, this is not ... it's my first lead role but I've done quite a few roles before. And all of them, I've played different characters."
The Guardian
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The week in audio: Die Die DEI; Drama on 4: The Film; Good Hang with Amy Poehler; Confessions of a Female Founder and more
The Slow Newscast: Die Die DEI (Tortoise Media)Drama on 4: The Film (Radio 4) | BBC SoundsGood Hang with Amy Poehler (The Ringer)Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan (Lemonada)Working Hard, Hardly Working (Grace Beverley) | Apple podcasts The Slow Newscast is usually worth a listen. Take Die Die DEI, from the week before last. Queasy and pointed, it tackles the issue of the Trump administration's 'war on woke'. As soon as the orange man-baby got into office, his government started shutting down inclusion programmes, and corporate US followed. Why? It's not about saving money, or terminology-wrangling. It's far more deeply prejudiced. Written and presented by Stephen Armstrong, the show focuses on one particular member of the Trump administration: the deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller. Described baldly by one contributor as 'a violently rightwing racist who is pushing a white nationalist agenda', he is far from a nice guy. But Armstrong is wise enough to tell Miller's story gradually. He was brought up in liberal, multiracial Santa Monica, California. Yet as a kid he dumps one of his friends by telling him exactly why he doesn't like him. 'Among that list of things,' recalls the friend, 'was my Latino heritage. That was one of the things that disqualified me from being his friend.' We follow Miller through his college years, a controversial rape case (not his: he supported some lacrosse players who were falsely accused of sexual assault) and into the Senate. There, he uses the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) approach against itself, telling white people that they are, in fact, victims. 'Hijacked victimhood' is what it's called: the idea that your lifestyle – your life – is put in a precarious position because other people are different from you. The way Miller plays it, it's a zero-sum game. You must triumph and 'they' – people not like you – must be vanquished. Armstrong's script is excellent. I could quote from any part of the show, but he really hits his stride towards the end. 'Don't get distracted by absurdities. This administration is throwing out so many bouncing, multicoloured balls that it's almost impossible to focus on what's important. The trick is to watch Stephen Miller. When he says something, it matters… The truth is, his views haven't changed since he dumped his best friend for being Latino.' There's something at once modern and classic about Armstrong's script, and I thought about this while listening to Drama on 4: The Film, a small gem of a radio play about a movie. Its subject is a true story. In 1945, Sidney Bernstein, a film-maker and producer, was given hundreds of hours of footage from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Shot by British army crews for the Ministry of Information, the footage was basic but devastating, full of appalling, cruel, hellish murder. How to make this into a film that would both engage and expose the public to the horrors of the Holocaust? How to do justice to the suffering? Amazingly, Bernstein asked Alfred Hitchcock to help. And Hitch, initially reluctant, said yes. Written by Martin Jameson, The Film is a Radio 4 drama of ye olde school: rather stagey, with theatrical speeches and performances. But it's also nicely paced, well acted, clear, moral. I found myself almost relieved that it exists. Not just because it's about the Holocaust, which should never be forgotten, but because it's an interesting real-life story that's a play, as opposed to an episode of a clever news podcast. Old-fashioned audio. Here's an example of new-fashioned audio, and it's one that promises much. Amy Poehler, delightfully funny comedian and actor, has decided 'about four or five years too late' to give us a podcast. The pitch for Good Hang with Amy Poehler must have had producers drooling: Poehler simply scrolls her contacts list, calls up a famous mate and has a chat, avoiding anything controversial in favour of having a laugh. Her first episode was with Tina Fey, who, being Tina Fey, took over and gave us insight (she works 12 hour days, plus 'homework' in the evening) and wit (she's worried about becoming one of those older Hollywood types who just 'tells it like it is'). But, God, it only takes a couple of episodes before we find ourselves riding on fumes. All is slapdash and self-congratulatory. An episode with actor Ike Barinholtz gives us almost nothing. There's a passing reference to him getting in an ecstasy mess in Amsterdam when he was younger, but we breeze past, and by the end of the show we know him no better. In every episode, Poehler enthuses so much about her guest – to their face! – that it feels performative. She laughs too much and for too long. Are these incredibly successful, creative, funny people so insecure that they need bolstering every other sentence? (Yes, clearly.) In a similar vein, please welcome Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's latest podcast venture, Confessions of a Female Founder. Actually, don't bother, unless OMG-yes-sister-and-you-look-so-good-while-doing-it is your thing. Honestly, I think it's just how they talk over there. Their idea of a good hang, or a good podcast, is different from ours, and involves a lot less piss-taking. Meghan's first show is with Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of dating app Bumble, but, nope, we don't learn anything much, except about how Megs and Whits met (it was NYE and Wolfe Herd was wearing a rhinestone cowboy costume! The embarrassment!) and how supportive they are of each other. If you want a decent podcast from a 28-year-old entrepreneur who's already built three companies and is generous with her business tips, then I recommend Grace Beverley's Working Hard, Hardly Working, now on episode 133. She also interrupts her guests too much to talk about her own life, but you get far more corporate insight and life practicality. The world, it seems, is full of these frantically perfectionist, success-obsessed, greige-swathed young women trying to get their life to work. I'd say relax, but they can't.
