Peter Andre defends new film 'Jafaican' after backlash over 'cultural appropriation'
23 May 2025, 14:10 | Updated: 3 June 2025, 13:36
Former pop star Peter Andre admitted he was "shocked" at the negative response the trailer had received online.
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Peter Andre has spoken out in defence of his new film, Jafaican, after people slammed the concept online and accused him of cultural appropriation.
The pop singer, 52, plays wheeler-dealer Garry Buckle in the movie, a crafty low-level criminal who poses as a Jamaican gangster as part of a swindling con – all to earn money for his nan's care home fees.
Appearing on This Morning alongside British-Nigerian filmmaker Fredi Nwaka, who directed the flick, the reality star said he was "a bit shocked" to hear about the negative reaction his character had provoked.
In fact, he confessed to ITV that he was left completely blindsided by the backlash as he and the team had received "approval" throughout their filming experience in the Caribbean.
He told daytime TV hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary: "I think what I found strange is that we took a process of nearly three years from starting this to finishing, and we sat with legends like (Jamaican comedian and actor) Oliver Samuels, doing the read over, doing the script and actually filming it.
"And when we went to Judgement Yard, which is where Sizzla Kalonji, reggae icon, lives, and we were invited in there to do this film.
"The whole process, if there was any point where any one of them said to us, this is not right, don’t it..."
"...we would have stopped", Nwaka chimed in.
The Mysterious Girl singer, who sports fake dreadlocks and puts on a false Jamaican accent in some of the scenes, added: "That’s why we were a bit shocked, because we had all the approval from everyone all the way along, and we laughed, and we did take after take, because we were all laughing when we were doing it."
Speaking of his own heritage and how he believed it related to his decision to play small-time criminal Garry, Peter added: "I’m Greek.
"I’ve said this before, when I see films where they play the stereotypical Greek with the hairy chest and the medallion and the big nose, and they do the accent. I find that hilarious.
"I find (it) offensive if someone’s saying really horrible things about your culture. And so I was a little bit confused, but I understand."
Jafaican director Fredi Nwaka explained that the movie was going to be published on Vimeo for 48 hours from midnight on Friday 23rd May so viewers could make up their "own minds" about its content.
The fallout hasn't put Peter, who shares Amelia, Theo, and Arabella with wife Emily and Junior and Princess with ex-wife Katie Price, off the idea of a second film though.
The father-of-five revealed during his interview with This Morning that a second movie was already in the works.
After joking with ITV presenter Alison that she should appear in the sequel, he said: "We are registering to work on a sequel to this. Different country, different characters."
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- Read more: Peter Andre reveals why he and Emily won't share pictures of their kids
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