Pastors’ daughter Naomi Scott landed the coveted role of Princess Jasmine in the live-action remake of Aladdin.
Scott recently appeared in the Power Rangers film and Disney Channel’s Lemonade Mouth.
The 24-year-old says she’s obsessed with gospel music.
“God is the ultimate creative force,” Scott says in a recent interview. “Growing up in the church fostered an inner spirituality that also introduced me to the concept of music having a deeper meaning. There has always been a connection between my faith and realizing that music can have a soul and purpose, which has ultimately affected the way I approach the art. Listening to soulful vocalists like Mary Mary and Kim Burrell, playing the piano and leading worship have directly [shaped] my artistry. Sonically I’ve translated core elements such as layering harmonies and the spirit of orchestrating sounds to make you feel a certain way into my personal work.”
Scott’s parents Chris and Usha pastor the Bridge Church in England.
According to the church website, “Chris and Usha Scott have been leading the Bridge Church for over 10 years now, and together with a passionate team, they are on a mission to shape a church that will embrace the challenge of our generation and raise up the change-makers of the next. We believe the key to this is in building a pro-active culture where everyone counts, every gift is important and every person understands their personal call to be missional every day of their life.”
The church says its mission statement can be summed up in three words: “Reach, Restore, Release. We want to reach people with the good news [that] God loves them. Bring restoration to the body, soul and spirit through a vibrant relationship with God. Release every person to live a full life in God, fulfilling their divine purpose and destiny. As a church, our vision is to build a community of Christ-followers who are vibrant in worship, unified in purpose and influential in society.”
Scott will join Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as Genie.
Some fans have criticized the English-Indian actress’ casting because she is not Arab.
On Twitter, fans wrote:
“I love Naomi Scott but I don’t love the ‘brown people are interchangeable’ idea that hollywood believes in so it’s a no from me.”
“All these Arab actresses on the planet and they cast half-white, half-Indian Naomi Scott as Jasmine. Indian isn’t middle-eastern, Hollywood.”
“People have a right to be upset about Naomi Scott being cast. They’re upset that their representation was taken away, and rightly so.” {eoa}
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