A group of Native American actors reportedly walked off the set of Adam Sandler’s new film, The Ridiculous 6, in protest of jokes they deemed offensive.

Native American Actors Offended On Set Of Adam Sandler Film

About a dozen Native American actors left the set of Sandler’s The Ridiculous 6 on Wednesday, April 22, revealed actor Loren Anthony. “There were about a dozen of us who walked off the set,” Anthony told Indian Country Today Media Network.

Anthony, a member of the Navajo Nation, revealed that prior to taking the job he had been assured by producers that the film would try to be as tasteful and accurate as possible, and they hired a cultural consultant to that effect. “I was asked a long time ago to do some work on this and I wasn’t down for it. Then they told me it was going to be a comedy, but it would not be racist. So I agreed to do it, but on Monday things started getting weird on set,” Anthony revealed.

According to Anthony, he was offended by the costuming, which was not correct Apache attire – the tribe they were meant to be in the film. He also found the jokes about women to be particularly offensive: “One thing that really offended a lot of people was that there was a female character called ‘Beaver’s Breath.’ One character says, ‘Hey, Beaver’s Breath.’ And the Native woman says, ‘How did you know my name?’”

Anthony said he and a few of the other actors and extras on set attempted to express their concerns to the director, frequent Sandler collaborator, Frank Coraci, but their concerns were brushed aside. “They just treated us as if we should just be on the side. When we did speak with the main director, he was trying to say the disrespect was not intentional and this was a comedy,” Anthony claimed.

Prior to the controversy, Anthony appeared to be having a good time on set. The actor posted several photos of himself on the set to his personal Instagram page, including one with Sandler himself. “Hanging out with Adam Sandler, viewing take backs from today’s scenes. Having a good time, great cast, great crew and feeling blessed to be here,” Anthony captioned the photo posted on Monday.

Producers Reportedly Dismissed Concerns Of Racism, Sexism

Allison Young, another actor who walked off the set, said that producers similarly dismissed her concerns, telling her “If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.” Goldie Tom added that the consultant hired by the film similarly approached the producers and was also turned away.

“They were being disrespectful. They were bringing up those same old arguments that Dan Snyder uses in defending the Redskins. But let me tell you, our dignity is not for sale. It is a real shame because a lot of people probably stay because they need a job,” said David Hill, who also walked off the set.

Hill added that producers had apparently called back the consultant and other actors who walked off set, and he has hopes that the producers will be more receptive to their concerns. “I hope they will listen to us. We understand this is a comedy, we understand this is humor, but we won’t tolerate disrespect. I told the director if he had talked to a native woman the way they were talked to in this movie – I said I would knock his ass out,” Hill said.

Netflix Responds

The Ridiculous 6 is part of a four movie deal Sandler has with Netflix, and is meant to be a satire on old Westerns, which often featured racial stereotypes of Native Americans. Netflix released a statement dismissing the reported controversy, saying, “The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of – but in on – the joke.”

Production on The Ridiculous 6 is ongoing, and stars Sandler, Will Forte, Taylor Lautner, Steve Buscemi, Terry Crews and Vanilla Ice have not commented on the story.