Alexandra Shipp, actor who plays young Storm in the "X-Men" film franchise, has addressed the criticism surrounding her casting in the role, saying people have no right to tell her that her skintone "doesn't match a Crayola from 1970".
Shipp first starred as the character in 2016's "X-Men: Apocalypse" and was slammed for not having a dark enough skin. Halle Berry played the adult version of the role in "X-Men" (2000), "X2" (2003) "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006) and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).
Shipp, 26, who reprises her role in the upcoming "Dark Phoenix", said as a child devouring the Marvel Comics, she could always relate with the weather-controlling mutant.
"(I tweeted back) at people who criticised me for not having dark enough skin for my role in X-Men because we're not going to have this conversation about a cartoon character. You're not going to tell me that my skin colour doesn't match a Crayola from 1970.
"Growing up, when I was reading the comics, I pictured her looking like me. For any black girl, for there to be a black superhero, we picture them looking like us," Shipp told Glamour magazine.
Following criticisms that her skin was too light to play Storm in the X-Men franchise, she tweeted, "This conversation about Storm is so stupid, I'm out... If I lose my job to another actress, I hope it's for her talent and grace, not her skin (colour)."