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Getty Composite<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\nThere\u2019s whitewashing in Hollywood, and then there\u2019s this \u2014 a studio exec thought it would be a good idea for Julia Roberts<\/strong><\/a> to play Harriet Tubman<\/strong> \u2026 according to the writer of the NEW film, \u201cHarriet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard<\/strong> says the ridiculous scene went down more than 25 years ago in a pitch meeting about the Tubman project. Howard says the exec told the room \u2026 \u201cThis script is fantastic. Let\u2019s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Roberts was widely considered America\u2019s Sweetheart at the time after starring in a string of hits like \u201cSteel Magnolias,\u201d \u201cPretty Woman\u201d and \u201cThe Pelican Brief.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Howard says when someone pointed out to the studio exec that Tubman was black and Roberts shouldn\u2019t play the role, he replied \u2026 \u201cIt was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n Thankfully, the Hollywood honcho didn\u2019t get his way, and flash forward to 2019 \u2026 Howard\u2019s movie about the legendary abolitionist who led hundreds of slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad is finally in theaters.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Of course, the casting of black British actress Cynthia Erivo<\/strong> was also criticized<\/strong><\/a> \u2026 because she\u2019s not African-American. Can\u2019t please everybody.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n BTW \u2014 Howard\u2019s best known for another hit movie touching on race relations in America \u2026 \u201cRemember the Titans.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n