Deaf actress criticized for taking DeafBlind role
On Friday deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, who had a starring role in “The Quiet Place” and “The Quiet Place II,” posted on Instagram a news article about her taking on the role of Helen Keller, a DeafBlind woman, in an upcoming film, “Helen & Teacher.”
Millicent said, “This is the role of a lifetime for me. Humbled and honored to portray one of the most extraordinary women of our time.”
There was both praise and criticism towards Millicent for the role. The criticism came from several DeafBlind individuals who said there should have been an authentic DeafBlind actress cast for the role rather than a sighted actor. Some drew parallels with controversies that arise whenever a hearing actor takes on a deaf role.
[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://www.convorelay.com/download ]
[Advertise with The Daily Moth! www.dailymoth.com/advertising]
Both deaf news outlets “The Limping Chicken” and “Deaf Vee” did reports about this controversy. Both shared an Instagram post by @loni.friedmann who said there were comments from DeafBlind people who were deleted under Millicent’s post.
Right now, Millicent’s Instagram post has a message that says, “Comments on this post have been limited.”
“The Hollywood Reporter” said filming for “Helen & Teacher” will begin in the summer of 2022. It also says that Millicent is a “distant cousin of Keller’s.”
It is worth noting here that there was a short film about a DeafBlind person that came out in 2019, “Feeling Through.” A DeafBlind actor named Robert Tarango was cast for the role of the DeafBlind character and it received praise for its authentic casting. The film was nominated for an Oscar for “Best Short Film (Live Action)” and Tarango attended the Oscars ceremony in April.
We’ve reached out to several people and plan to do a follow-up story about the Helen Keller controversy.
https://deafvee.org/2021/10/18/millicent-simmonds-under-fire-for-accepting-deafblind-role/