WHEN news of Lilo and Stitch live action movie was announced, many eagerly awaited the news of who would be cast in the roles for the Disney movie about a Hawaiian girl adopting an alien. 

Newcomer Maia Kealoha was first reported to be playing the title role of Lilo, and fans kept watch on who would be chosen to play her guardian and older sister Nani.

On April 13, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Disney has found its Nani: actress Sydney Elizabeth Agudong.

Agudong’s IMDB page lists her as being of Filipino, Hawaiian, English, German, Irish, and Scottish descent.

The news outlet reported that Agudong was born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii, which is also the setting of the film Lilo and Stitch. 

Agudong has also appeared in television series and films like NCIS, Infamously in Love, On My Block, West Michigan, and At Your Feet. 

Mixed reactions 

However, not all movie fans welcomed the announcement of Agudong’s casting. 

Even though Agudong is from Hawaiii, there were those who had an issue with how she looked. Some of them took to social media to say that they were displeased that Disney decided to cast a lighter-skinned actress with caucasian features when Nani has a dark complexion in the film.

They said they don’t support Disney’s colorism and that Agudong does not look like Nani.

Colorism really fucked over Nani's casting for the live action Lilo and Stitch. Yes the actress is a native Hawaiian, but she is also light skinned and white passing while Nani is not and never had been. She deserves better pic.twitter.com/HwIFQnK8lu

— sage (@moffymans) April 14, 2023

Not being Indigenous or from a PoC community, it may not be easy to see a problem with this casting, but within our communities this is a big issue.
No offense to Sydney, but Nani is Indigenous Hawaiian with strong features and dark skin, this casting is blatant colorism. https://t.co/OLnw0KZlt4

— 🪶Cuchillo Lope🪶 (@HosteenCholo) April 14, 2023

Some also pointed out that Nani’s dark skin was part of the nuances of the original animated film as it affected how people treated her. 

Colorism is wild cause there’s no way a casting director put a headshot of Sydney side by side next to Nani and thought that they looked similar https://t.co/0naX6EHTB7

— 4quest.❤️🔱🖤 (@thinkpiecetribe) April 14, 2023

#ColoristCastingStrikesAgain As if it wasnt hard enough for darkskin native Hawaiian actresses to break through. As if its wasnt hard enough cause ppl confuse *all* natives with each other. As if this casting doesnt get a pass because you have to spell it out that shes Hawaiian. https://t.co/eOnaHeyElw

— 💮 BLUE DRAGON SLUG 💮 fey/they (@artistisch) April 14, 2023

Verywell Mind defines “colorism” as the favoring of lighter skin over darker skin. It is said to be rooted in racism since in historical times, someone’s value and perceived superiority were based on their skin color. 

But other netizens came to the actress’ defense and said that Agudong still fits the role since she is Hawaiian herself. 

They cast a Hawaiian to play a Hawaiian! How unseemly! https://t.co/Bvjlh27y3S

— PopeLeoMangusXVII (@LeoMagnusXVIII) April 16, 2023

https://twitter.com/sirchadwavethe1/status/1646906014757781506?s=20

Disney has not issued a statement about its casting decision, and neither has Agudong responded to the reactions about her inclusion in the Disney movie. 

What’s Lilo and Stitch about?

Lilo and Stitch is an animated Disney movie that was released in 2002. The story is about an alien, 626, who crashed in the island of Hawaii. 

He was later adopted as a dog by a young, orphaned girl named Lilo. She names the alien Stitch and teaches him the importance of family and friendship. 

Unknown to Lilo, Stitch is being chased by the aliens who created him as their experiment to take over Earth.

Stream Lilo and Stitch on Disney+