Controversy has erupted after it emerged that the star of Netflix hits Bridgerton and Sex Education, Simone Ashley, has had all her lines cut from the final edit of the Brad Pitt-led blockbuster F1, directed by Joseph Kosinski.
Originally slated to star in a minor love interest role, Ashley鈥檚 part in the film 鈥 which lands in Australian cinemas on Thursday 鈥 has reportedly been reduced to a lineless cameo, echoing a similar treatment of The Acolyte and The Good Place actor Manny Jacinto by Kosinski in the director鈥檚 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick.
Ashley attended the London premiere of the film this week despite her treatment in the final edit, but has yet to make an official statement. In 2022, when Jacinto was cut from Top Gun: Maverick he told GQ that it 鈥渨asn鈥檛 shocking鈥 for him to have been cut from the film.
鈥淚t kind of fuels you because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise. It鈥檚 up to us 鈥 Asian Americans, people of colour 鈥 to be that [for ourselves]. We can鈥檛 wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves,鈥 Jacinto told the outlet.