WAYLAND, Mass. (WHDH) — An actor who starred in the 1993 Disney movie “Cool Runnings” has reached out to Wayland High School after the school canceled a screening of the movie.
The movie, based on the true story of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, was supposed to be shown during Winter Week at the school. Winter Week is meant to be a time for students to relax after midterms but the day before “Cool Runnings” was going to be shown, Principal Allyson Mizoguchi sent an email out that read, in part:
“We have become aware of criticism related to racially insensitive portrayals of characters in the movie. The nature of these concerns is important to validate and certainly does not reflect our mission as a school.”
Parents and students told 7News they were disappointed that the movie was canceled.
“I thought it was upsetting and disappointing and I was upset our school system would say that our 16-year-olds couldn’t watch a Disney rated-PG movie,” said parent Renee Bolivar.
Actor Leon, who starred in “Cool Runnings,” reached out to Mizoguchi on Twitter. He said he has always been proud of the positive message portrayed in the movie. He offered to come to Wayland and discuss the movie with anyone who found it objectionable.
“I never heard such a thing before but I always believe in making things that seem negative into something positive,” said Leon. “I would be willing to discuss this with you, your students, anyone who thinks this is racially insensitive. I think this should be a great conversation.”
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