Uglies Author Responds To Criticism That Joey King Is "Too Pretty" To Play Tally

18 September 2024, 17:30

By Sam Prance

Uglies director McG has also explained why he cast Joey King in the role.

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Uglies author Scott Westerfeld has responded to criticism that Joey King is "too pretty" the play the role of Tally in the film.

As soon as Uglies came out on Netflix, the film divided fans of the original book. Like the novel, the movie tells the story of a teenage girl named Tally who exists in a dystopian future where everyone gets mandatory plastic surgery at the age of 16 to transform from an "Ugly" into a "Pretty". The Kissing Booth star Joey King takes on the main role of Tally.

People were divided over whether or not Joey was the right fit to play Tally. While some viewers have praised Joey's acting in the film, others have suggested that she was miscast for the role. One person tweeted: "Joey King is too pretty to play Tallie [sic]". Another added: "The ‘uglies’ are better looking than anyone that I know in real life."

Now, Uglies creator Scott Westerfeld and director McG have explained why they think Joey is the right fit to play Tally.

Read more: Will There Be An Uglies 2? Pretties Movie Release Date, Cast, Trailer, Book Plot And News
Read more: Who Does Tally End Up With In Uglies? Here's What Happens In The Books

Joey King pitched Uglies to Netflix when she was 17

When asked by Decider if Joey is "too pretty" to play Tally, Scott responded: "It’s the internet. I’ve seen all flavors of that remark, in both directions. I don’t think it’s particularly relevant. As the author of the book, I’ll say this: There is some textual evidence that Tally is actually quite pretty, and she only thinks she is ugly. David is like, 'You’re incredibly gorgeous.'"

He then explained: "So in a weird way, it’s not even about that. It’s just about her expectations in the universe that she grew up in. Which, of course, is probably the same for many movie stars out there, who are incredibly gorgeous, as they get up every day and look at themselves and say, 'Oh, I look like crap today.' As we all do."

Joey King after her "Pretty" transformation in Uglies. Picture: Netflix

Meanwhile, McG defended Joey's casting in the movie by telling TheWrap: "That’s precisely why we did it, is because we’re saying it’s never enough. And Joey King, beautiful. Brianne Tju, Chase, Keith, Laverne, you can’t get much more beautiful. And we’re saying that’s not the point. There’s always somebody or something there to nitpick.”

He added: "I think, if you spoke to some of the most universally regarded beautiful people in the world, they’re some of the people with the most intense body dysmorphia. Nobody’s immune from this toxicity that’s out there of ‘It’s never enough. You can always have a thinner waist, bigger hips, fuller lips.’ Take your pick."

McG ended by saying: "You see it out there every day, and this movie is meant to be the antidote to that way of thinking."

Joey personally pitched Uglies to Netflix when she was 17 years old and is part of the reason why the film was made.