'Wuthering Heights' casting director defends casting Jacob Elordi, Margot Robbie

When it was announced that Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie would play Heathcliff and Catherine in Emerald Fennell's upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights, the internet erupted with backlash over the casting.

People argued that Heathcliff is described as “dark-skinned” in Emily Brontë’s novel which makes Elordi a bad choice for the role. They also questioned Margot’s age as Catherine is 18 in the book, much younger than the Barbie actress, 34.

Now, casting director Kharmel Cochrane has explained the casting of the stars, telling Deadline, “There’s definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy. There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot. But just wait till you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not. But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”

“Wait until you see the set design, because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it,” Kharmel teased.

Kharmel also responded to whitewashing backlash regarding Heathcliff, saying, “If something is clearly written as white, for example, a script reads ‘she tied her blonde hair back,’ but there’s no specific reason for it, I will just put people on tape. And then it’s almost like I dare someone to question why I’ve done it, and they don’t. So then it just becomes normal. Years ago, I would get people saying, ‘Did you read the brief?’ And I’d say yeah, and this is my interpretation of it, just like when you can read a book.”