21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Jafaican star Peter Andre breaks his silence on problematic movie's backlash
Peter Andre has spoken out about the backlash against his new film Jafaican, which sees the Mysterious Girl singer portray a wheeler-dealer who poses as a violent Jamaican gangster
Singer-turned-actor Peter Andre has hit back at critics slamming his latest movie Jafaican, in which he stars as a faux gangster. The heartthrob behind Mysterious Girl takes centre stage in Fredi Nwaka's latest comedy romp – playing hustler Gary Buckle.
The character tries to score a windfall by pretending to be mob boss Denton 'Kill Man' Powell donning a fake dreadlock wig and putting on a Jamaican accent.
While Jafaican has garnered positive reviews since its unveiling, the flick has been marred by accusations of cultural appropriation and being labelled "tone-deaf" by some viewers. Nevertheless, Peter Andre rebuffed the backlash aiming at his latest venture.
The pop icon advises skeptics: "I think it's very easy to criticise something based on a trailer. I would say: 'Go and watch the film first,' you will see what the film is about and you will see the context."
He continued to tell the Daily Star: "A critic should also be able to criticise, so I understand how it is."
Andre, acknowledging that the film won't be everyone's cup of tea, encouraged naysayers to view it before casting judgment. In defence of his work, Peter commented: "In regards to critics, I think it is really important for people to all have different opinions.
"I don't think it is right to just expect everyone to like what you're doing, but I've always said that, you know, in anything I've ever done I've always had people saying: 'Don't do that, you shouldn't do that, that's not the right song to release, that's not a good video clip."
The artist-turned-thespian, acclaimed for roles in the likes of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, David Brent: Life on the Road and Keith Lemon: The Film, divulged his reasons for embracing his latest character.
Refusing to be swayed by naysayers, he stated: "If I sat and listened to everybody telling me what not to do, I would never have achieved anything! I think sometimes you have to just go outside of your comfort zone and push yourself."
The movie chronicles the mishaps of a London crook who must scrape together £35,000 to pay for his grandmother's care home expenses. When he catches wind of a heist that could solve all his problems, Gary jets off to Jamaica, only to find himself in a downward spiral.
As locals cotton on to his impersonation of Denton 'Kill Man' Powell to snare a fortune, Gary finds himself in a tight spot. 'Jafaican' is currently showing in select ODEON Cinemas.
Peter's kids Princess and Junior were by his side at a recent a red carpet screening for his latest event in London saw the family attend the Genesis Cinema for the private VIP event, posing for photographs ahead of the much-discussed film's debut.
While promoting the movie on Australian TV earlier in the month, Peter said of the criticism: "Well, to be fair, I mean, I think it's good to get all sorts of feedback. I mean, this is not ... it's my first lead role but I've done quite a few roles before. And all of them, I've played different characters."
