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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| The Lone Ranger hit by protest over cleft lip | The Lone Ranger hit by protest over cleft lip |
| (2 months later) | |
| The Johnny Depp western The Lone Ranger has attracted ire from campaigners over its addition of a prosthetic cleft lip to actor William Fichtner's face, to enhance the "evil" qualities of his outlaw killer character Butch Cavendish. The official character synopsis reads: "Meet Butch Cavendish. A ruthless outlaw whose terribly scarred face is a perfect reflection of the bottomless pit that passes for his soul." | The Johnny Depp western The Lone Ranger has attracted ire from campaigners over its addition of a prosthetic cleft lip to actor William Fichtner's face, to enhance the "evil" qualities of his outlaw killer character Butch Cavendish. The official character synopsis reads: "Meet Butch Cavendish. A ruthless outlaw whose terribly scarred face is a perfect reflection of the bottomless pit that passes for his soul." |
| Esteban Lasso, executive director of Canadian-based "cleft care" charity Transforming Faces, said in a statement: "It's disheartening that a major motion picture would perpetuate this negative perception and we hope that in future, birth defects and facial differences will not be used to portray 'evil' characters." | Esteban Lasso, executive director of Canadian-based "cleft care" charity Transforming Faces, said in a statement: "It's disheartening that a major motion picture would perpetuate this negative perception and we hope that in future, birth defects and facial differences will not be used to portray 'evil' characters." |
| Meanwhile, the UK's Cleft Lip and Palate Association (Clapa) called for a boycott of the film, saying: "Not only is this incredibly lazy storytelling, it's also sending a deeply harmful message that will impact the 90,000 people that were born with a cleft in the UK as well as others worldwide … A congenital abnormality is not something to be made fun of, a cleft lip does not add to the 'look' of a villain, a character like this will not help the public's perception or understanding of cleft." | Meanwhile, the UK's Cleft Lip and Palate Association (Clapa) called for a boycott of the film, saying: "Not only is this incredibly lazy storytelling, it's also sending a deeply harmful message that will impact the 90,000 people that were born with a cleft in the UK as well as others worldwide … A congenital abnormality is not something to be made fun of, a cleft lip does not add to the 'look' of a villain, a character like this will not help the public's perception or understanding of cleft." |
| The Lone Ranger is released in UK cinemas on 9 August. | The Lone Ranger is released in UK cinemas on 9 August. |
| • This article was amended on 23 July 2013. The original piece used the word "disability" when referring to a cleft lip. | • This article was amended on 23 July 2013. The original piece used the word "disability" when referring to a cleft lip. |
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