Female journalist slams Rob Ford movie over casting male actor

A female journalist has slammed the planned thriller surrounding controversial Toronto mayor Rob Ford, claiming that a male actor has been cast in her role.

Robyn Doolittle was one of three reporters who worked for the Toronto Star in uncovering Ford’s criminal behaviour, which included him being filmed smoking crack.

His political career never recovered, and he died in 2016 after being diagnosed with cancer some years prior.

A film which uses the Ford scandal as a backdrop was announced yesterday, with Brit star Damian Lewis as Ford, but Doolittle tweeted that a male actor, Ben Platt, has been cast in her role.

“I’m glad they’re rewriting the fact that it was a female reporter who investigated Rob Ford. Why have a woman be a lead character when a man could do it? Ammaright?” she wrote.

Platt, however, has defended the casting, saying that the role he’s playing is not that of Doolittle.

Doolittle is yet to respond to Platt’s remarks.

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