Native American actors leave Adam Sandler's Ridiculous Six set

Adam Sandler’s marriage with Netflix is off to a controversial start. Native American actors and actresses walked off the set of The Ridiculous Six on Wednesday due to offensive jokes and inaccuracies between nations, according to the Indian Country Today Media Network. The report details how some of the offenses were sexual in nature, and that stereotypical Native American names and general crassness — that being a staple in the Sandler canon — caused the walkout.

Actor Loren Anthony told ICTMN “about a dozen” left the set. He added, “They just treated us as if we should just be on the side. When we did speak with the main director, he was trying to say the disrespect was not intentional and this was a comedy.”

A Netflix spokesperson told EW: “The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of—but in on—the joke.”

Former Dartmouth film student Allison Young, who also walked off, spoke on the incident with stronger words than Anthony’s: “We talked to the producers about our concerns. They just told us, ‘If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave.’ I was just standing there and got emotional and teary-eyed,” she said. “This is supposed to be a comedy that makes you laugh. A film like this should not make someone feel this way.”

In October, the video streaming giant announced that Sandler would produce four movies, exclusively for the platform. The first is The Ridiculous Six, a spoof of the classic western The Magnificent Seven. Sandler, Will Forte, Taylor Lautner, Steve Buscemi, Terry Crews and Vanilla Ice are among the stars. Sandler and Tim Herlihy are credited with the script, while Frank Coraci is the director. The film is expected to arrive on Netflix in 2016.

Happy Madison Productions has yet to respond to EW’s request for comment.