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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man star Hudson Thames, who voices Peter Parker in the hit animated series, came under fire earlier this year with comments made about "woke" content. The actor has now broken his silence on the controversy, clarifying how what he'd intended to convey was muddled by a "poor choice of words."

Thames addressed the situation in a new interview with Juju Green (per ScreenRant). The actor said he was referring to comments that he'd been seeing on social media with people voicing concern about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man adding diversity to the show in a way that felt "inauthentic or disingenuous." He clarified that diversity is a part of the animated series, but that it never "felt forced," which was the point he was intending to make.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Juju Green (@straw_hat_goofy)

"So, obviously, something that I said was cherry-picked...

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man star Hudson Thames has finally spoken out about the controversy his comments caused the series in the days leading up to its release. During an interview with Collider's Mike Thomas before the premiere of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter Parker voice actor Hudson Thames shared his version of praise for the series, which was that he was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't “annoying and woke". These fully contextualized comments came around the same time that some of Thames’ co-stars—namely two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo—were facing racist backlash for their casting as characters such as Norman Osborn. Now, nearly a month after Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man concluded its first season with an explosive season finale, Thames has provided some clarification on his comments in an interview with TikTok influencer Straw Hat Goofy:...

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premiered in January to great reviews, but its debut came with some controversy. Hudson Thames, the voice actor reprising the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man from the animated series What If...?, was giving a seemingly innocent interview to promote the show's debut when some of his comments soon went viral. In the interview, Thames spoke about his initial concerns that the show would be "woke," and it was a sentiment that was met with near-universal criticism. Now, with some time away from those controversial comments, the actor is trying to set the record straight.

During an Instagram interview with Juju Green, Thames admitted that he thought the media "cherry-picked and used essentially with no context" his comments "to kind of stir up some drama." From there, he attempted to retract his initial "woke" comment about the series.

"So, obviously, something that I said was cherry-picked and...

Hudson Thames, who voices Peter Parker in the animated Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man series, has addressed the backlash he received for comments he made during an interview around the time of the show's Disney+ premiere.

Here's what Thames said to Collider back in January when asked how he felt about the series introducing a Black take on Norman Osborn and spotlighting diverse characters such as Lonnie Lincoln, Nico Minoru, and Pearl Pangan.

"I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn't, and I was like, 'Yes, this is great, it's so well written,' like it feels real. I'm the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what's happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice."

It's worth noting that Thames didn't actually call the show woke.

The newest Spider-Man actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is opening up about the backlash he received following his "woke" comments about the new Disney+ series. While 2025's Marvel releases began with the arrival of the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man show telling an alternative version of Peter Parker's MCU origin story, the Phase 5 series opened with some controversy. After the show's leading actor, Hudson Thames, expressed his initial concerns about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man being "woke", it didn't take long before the Marvel star got criticism about his commentary.

Nearly two months after the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man controversy, Thames has discussed this matter, as the MCU voice actor addressed the situation in a new interview with Juju Green. During their conversation, Thames, who also voiced Spider-Man in the What If...? animated series, stressed that he felt his initial statement had been "cherry-picked and used essentially with no context just...

MultiCon is putting the final touches on its schedule, which will benefit recovery from the Los Angeles wildfires when it rolls into the Preserve LA on Saturday.

The panels (listed in full below), include a conversation with Kevin Smith, Rob Liefeld and Robert Kirkman, while newly announced guests include All That and Good Burger star Kel Mitchell and Vivien Lyra Blair, known for playing the young Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

They join guests that include David Dastmalchian, Seth Green, Sean Gunn and others.

Liefeld will also sign art from his property Young Blood that will only be available at the convention. As with other signings and photo opportunities with MultiCon talent, the proceeds will benefit United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Tickets starting at $35, while VIP tickets go for $100 and can be purchased here.

Along with the panels, organizers announced that the collectible company Thrilljoy will offer a Pix box figure to every attendee.

From Fruitvale Station to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler has established himself as one of the most vital voices in filmmaking over the past 12 years, and now he's stepping into the world of horror with his latest film, Sinners. Ahead of the movie's April 18th release in theaters, Warner Bros. revealed a new trailer for Sinners that sinks its teeth into visceral scares and unveils the vampiric side of its chilling and emotional story.

Daily Dead recently took part in a virtual Sinners trailer preview event with Ryan Coogler hosted by Juju Green. During the insightful conversation about Sinners, Coogler discussed how this film is especially a personal project for him:

My maternal grandfather is from Mississippi. And my uncle James, who passed away while I was finishing up Creed, was also from Mississippi. And it was a place I had never been. My maternal grandfather passed before I was born.

A number of comic convention regulars are banding together to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

On Feb. 22, names such as Kevin Smith, David Dastmalchian and Seth Green will assemble at MultiCon, taking place at The Preserve LA. There will be the normal trappings of a comic convention, including panels and autograph signings, but with a twist: fans can donate money to get autographs and selfies with talent.

Others attending include Rob Liefeld, Jackie Tohn, Daniel Logan, Yuri Lowenthal, Tara Platt, Isaac Robinson Smith, Monique Coleman and Kaycee Stroh. More will be announced as the date gets near.

Proceeds benefit United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

“Everyone knows someone whose life was turned upside down from the wildfires. We have planned this event with Multihouse to not only raise funds to help those in need, but to also provide an opportunity for people to start the healing process,” said Larry Bond,...

Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry. This week, gun-loving creators are getting fired up, and experienced digital media execs are getting hired up.

Creator commotion

After YouTube’s latest firearm video crackdown, some creators have had enough. At least four channels in YouTube’s firearms community have announced moves to new platforms in response to a crackdown on machine gun videos and sponsored clips that market guns. This isn’t the first time YouTube has found itself at odds with firearms enthusiasts. Maybe this time, the aggrieved creators will take my advice and move to Pornhub.

Kurzgesagt speaks! Philipp Dettmer runs one of YouTube’s most popular channels but doesn’t give interviews too often, so we’re all over his chat with Forbes. One fun fact: Dettmer “didn’t know...

The Hollywood Reporter celebrated social media’s biggest stars at its Creators A-List party on Thursday, raising a glass to the Internet breakouts who are taking over the industry.

The event, presented by iHeartRadio and sponsored by Coca-Cola, Meta and Gersh, was tied to THR‘s inaugural Creators A-List issue, out this week, featuring a list of the 50 most influential influencers and a profile on cover star Jake Paul. Multihyphenate star Huddy performed at the party — and hosted red carpet interviews for THR — in front of a crowd that included top creators Josh Richards, Delaney Rowe, Drew Afualo, Heidi Wong and Hot Ones host Sean Evans.

At West Hollywood hotspot Delilah, the night kicked off with Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess, Scout Willis, Anna Sitar and Josh Brubaker, Yasmine Sahid, Julian Burzynski and reality TV alums Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli among the early arrivals.

Baron Schoenvogel, Josh Richards,...

More than 450 industry professionals posted up inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom in Beverly Hills last Wednesday as ThinkLA took a peek “Behind the Curtain.”

Presented by Nexxen, the four-hour brunch program featured a series of panel discussions designed to detail the complexities, challenges and victories of mounting marketing campaigns from idea to execution amid a shifting entertainment landscape.

ThinkLA — founded to promote Los Angeles as a network of creativity and innovation in media, marketing, entertainment and advertising — welcomed senior leadership from top studios and companies around town including Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Amazon, UTA and more.

Sony Motion Picture Group president Josh Greenstein participated in a fireside chat, sitting down for a wide-ranging discussion with Jon Purpura, director of sales, entertainment and media for United Airlines. The Hollywood Reporter’s contributing editor Stacey Wilson Hunt moderated a deep dive discussion about key marketing campaign moments that featured Amazon Creative Studios’ Dana Flowers,...

Juju Green, best known to the internet as Straw Hat Goofy, is no stranger to talking about movies all day, every day. In fact, it’s his energetic commentary on films of all genres that has endeared him to his 3.5 million followers on TikTok and made him a staple at industry events like premieres and festivals.

Now, he’s hoping to capitalize on that popularity with a new podcast, “Get Rec’d.” In the series launching Saturday, Green will chat with celebrities and film fans about both the movies they’ve made and the movies that made them.

Scheduled guests include “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler, Daniel Kaluuya and Kane Robinson of “The Kitchen,” “Phineas and Ferb” co-creator Dan Povenmire, “Hercules” actor Susan Egan, Disney animator Eric Goldberg, “Argylle” director Matthew Vaughn, “Oppenheimer” actor David Dastmalchian and Ben Kingsley Adair of “Bob Marley: One Love.”

Green sat down with Variety...

When SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in striking against the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, there was immediate action. The cast of summer blockbuster Oppenheimer immediately left their screening, SAG president Fran Drescher delivered a fervid speech blaming the AMPTP for Hollywood’s halt, and SAG was quick to release a notice spelling out exactly what actions were banned — like filming, acting, or even sending in audition tapes to a struck company. But you don’t have to be union to cross a picket line. And with the consequence...