The news came out when film extra Kaushal Odedra said that he saw "around 20" extras being made to look Middle Eastern, in an interview with the U.K.'s Sunday Times. Odedra would go on to be quoted by the BBC, saying:
"Aladdin was the perfect time to show diversity but also be accurate...they're being out of touch with what's going on around them."
BBC spoke to representatives from Disney who confirmed that they were browning up some of their extras:
"Great care was taken to put together one of the largest, most diverse casts ever seen on screen...Diversity of our cast and background performers was a requirement and only in a handful of instances when it was a matter of specialty skills, safety and control (special effects rigs, stunt performers and handling of animals) were crew made up to blend in."
