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Cats star Jason Derulo hits back at critics after scathing reviews brand it ‘tacky’ and ‘embarrassing’
20 December 2019, 10:50
Jason Derulo has hit back at scathing reviews of his new film Cats, insisting it’s "an incredible piece of art".
After months of waiting, the big-screen adaptation of Lord Lloyd-Webber's popular 1981 musical Cats hit the big screen earlier this week.
But while it features huge stars such as Taylor Swift and James Corden, the movie has now been met with negative reviews, with one critic describing it as “an alltime disaster”.
Despite the poor critique, now Jason Derulo - who plays Rum Tum Tugger in the film - has hit back, telling TMZ "reviews don't matter".
The 30-year-old reminded his fans that the stage musical of Cats also had mixed reviews when it first opened on Broadway before it became one of the most popular productions ever.
He said: "Any time you defy what an art form is, any time you defy all rules, there's going to be some push-back, obviously. But it's an incredible piece of art done by some of the best people in the world."
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The singer added: "I am just excited for the people to actually see it because reviewers, I mean, what the hell do they know? Have they made a film ever in their life?"
The film’s visual style – employing CGI human-cat hybrids – brought about particularly strong reactions with Daily Telegraph’s Tim Robey giving it zero stars.
He wrote: “Once seen, the only realistic way to fix Cats would be to spay it, or simply pretend it never happened.”
Writer Peter Debruge also described the film as an “outlandishly tacky interpretation” of the musical, and The Mirror’s reviewer added: “It left me feline embarrassed for all involved.”
The musical and subsequent film tells the tale of a tribe of cats called Jellicles as they prepare for an annual ball.
The group must choose someone to go to what’s known as the ‘Heaviside layer’ and come back to a new life.
As well as Jason Derulo, Taylor Swift stars as flirtatious Bombalurina.
Royal Ballet dancer Francesca Hayward plays the timid young kitten Victoria, while Jennifer Hudson is Grizabella.
The likes of Judi Dench (Old Deuteronomy), Idris Elba (Macavity), James Corden (Bustopher Jones), Rebel Wilson (Jennyanydots), and Ian McKellan (Gus the Theatre Cat) also top off the all-star cast.
Cats is out in cinemas in the UK today (December 20).
