Johnny Depp wants to know why the f*ck the Lone Ranger orders Tonto around

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Hi, I’m Niki. I’ll be the one bringing you most of the news on Disney’s THE LONE RANGER.

In today’s news, Johnny Depp is standing up for the treatment of Native Americans. Depp wasn’t all too pleased with the way that Tonto was portrayed in the original television series, “I remember watching it as a kid, with Jay Silverheels and Clayton Moore, and going: ‘Why is the f—ing Lone Ranger telling Tonto what to do? I liked Tonto, even at that tender age, and knew Tonto was getting the unpleasant end of the stick here. That’s stuck with me. And when the idea came up [for the movie], I started thinking about Tonto and what could be done in my own small way try to — ‘eliminate’ isn’t possible — but reinvent the relationship, to attempt to take some of the ugliness thrown on the Native Americans, not only in The Lone Ranger, but the way Indians were treated throughout history of cinema, and turn it on its head.”

This shouldn’t have been much of a surprise for him. The portrayal of Native Americans in cinema has always been like this. Not only does it seem nearly impossible to find an actual Native American to play Native American, but they are always played over the top.

Depp feels a need to defend what Native American ancestry he does have in his family tree, “I guess I have some Native American somewhere down the line. My great grandmother was quite a bit of Native American, she grew up Cherokee or maybe Creek Indian. Makes sense in terms of coming from Kentucky, which is rife with Cherokee and Creek.”

The treatment of Native Americans really affects Depp as he thinks back to what horrific things his ancestors may have been subject to, The interesting thing, if you find out you’ve got Native American blood, which a lot of people do, is you think about where it comes from and go back and read the great books, Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee or [John Ehle’s] Trail of Tears, you have to think, somewhere along the line, I’m the product of some horrific rape. You just have that little sliver in your chemical makeup.”

Source: EW

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