Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man just swung onto Disney+, and thanks to Hudson Thames, it’s already in flames. The actor has been handling Spidey voice duties going back to Marvel’s What If…?, but this was his first shot at a full-fledged animated series, which he’s already driven straight into a wall.
Per usual, the show had been catching some predictable online flack thanks to the casting of Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn, who is Black in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. In a remarkable unforced error, this creative decision apparently concerned Thames, who decided to voice those thoughts out loud.
Here’s what he told Collider after being asked about his initial reaction to the series:
“I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn’t, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is great, it’s so well written,’ like it feels real. I’m the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what’s happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice.”
In the most generous interpretation of Thames’ remarks, he also thought having Black people exist in a cartoon would be “annoying,” but don’t worry, it’s actually done in a non-woke way, which is what exactly? I know the word become a bogeyman when Trump won again, but after watching his DEI purge and all-out assault on the transgender community, it’s time to stop shying away from the concept.
Woke simply means a more accurate reflection of society that includes people who aren’t straight and white. That’s it. There’s a Brown or gay person on your TV? Holy sh*t, you’ll live, you big f*cking baby.
There was absolutely no reason for Hudson Thames to make that statement, and I’m sure the publicity team at Disney+ is real thrilled. Even if he was trying to alleviate concerns about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, all he did was send out a giant signal flare that proclaimed, “I hate wokeness, too.” Apparently, it ruins Hudson Thames’ whole day to see a minority. Real Spidey material, bud.