and even tho Naomi Scott did a great job, I find it odd that they didn’t chose someone of Arab heritage and just went with someone with half Indian heritage instead …
JADE reveals she was “devastated” to not get the part of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s live-action ‘Aladdin’, sharing why the character had been so meaningful to her as a young girl of Arab heritage:
“I got down to the last few [auditionees]. I sent a letter once I knew they’d reached out, saying that Jasmine was sort of my idol growing up. She was the only character I could really look up to as someone of Arab heritage. There wasn’t a lot of positive representation at the time, so Princess Jasmine was who I dreamed of being. I said that to the casting director.
I did three rounds of auditions. I sang ‘A Whole New World’ in Guy Ritchie’s living room, which was very strange. [Laughs] That’s just showbiz, right? I didn’t get the part and that’s fine. But I was quite sad for some time, definitely. I was gutted, I can’t lie.”