Randy Orton, whose dishonorable military discharge has even been referenced in WWE storyline, seemed an intuitively odd choice for the lead in WWE’s third “The Marine” film.
But between his look and name value, he still represented a compelling choice for the position previously occupied by John Cena and Ted DiBiase. And, so, he was cast.
Then came the backlash. Actual US Marines protested WWE’s decision to feature someone of Orton’s military history in the role, noting the potential disrespect associated with the casting. WWE, which maintains strong ties with US armed forces responded as desired by removing Orton from the role.
As WWE seeks a suitable replacement for Orton, the wrestler took to Twitter to express his reaction to the casting-and-uncasting.
He initially Re-Tweeted a fan’s message, “Everyone knows about @RandyOrton past, so y offer him the movie part and then decide to drop him,” before adding, “I respect our military. That’s why I’ve gone to Iraq or Afghan 3 times and met thousands of soldiers. Funny that’s not mentioned.”
