Just months after Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey through reshoots in All the Money in the World, The Hate U Give is undergoing a similar change. According to Deadline, Riverdale star K.J. Apa has been tapped to take over Kian Lawley’s part in the film adaptation of Angie Thomas’s best-selling debut young-adult novel. Lawley was dropped from the movie after a video surfaced of the YouTube star making racist jokes and using racial slurs. At the time, the production was reportedly almost completely wrapped. The studio Fox 2000 has given director George Tillman Jr. an additional week for reshoots with Apa.
The movie stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr, an African-American teenager who witnesses a police officer shoot and kill her unarmed friend. The tragedy turns her into an activist.
Following the studio’s decision to fire Lawley, the YouTuber said in a statement, “Words have power and can do damage. I own mine and I am sorry. I respect Fox’s decision to recast this role for The Hate U Give as it is an important story, and it would not be appropriate for me to be involved considering the actions of my past.â€