Disney has cast the first “female Genie” for its ‘Aladdin’ musical. Of course, everyone has an opinion

The great scourge of our time: everyone has an opinion, all the time, especially if the subject has to do with women, other races, or minority groups. Boy, do they have an opinion, and they’re going to tell it to you from start to finish! If people on the Internet got hugely angry over a black man being given the spotlight, now just imagine the fit they’ve thrown over casting a woman as the Genie in Aladdin. A reaction as sad as it is boring.

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There’s no genie quite this genial

The woman cast as the Genie once played by Robin Williams is Sherri Shepherd, 59, a comedian, Emmy winner, and more than deserving of any role after more than three decades in the industry. Her run on Broadway will only run from October 16 to January 3, but it’s been enough for the usual crowd to take up arms in protest against the gender of a fictional character.

Twitter, of course, has filled up with “go woke go broke” comments (you know, like The Odyssey) and flat-out racist and sexist opinions galore, par for the course in 2026. People who never cared about the Aladdin musical have suddenly become staunch defenders of the idea that the character should be played by a white man. Luckily, most of the responses are positive because, frankly, it takes nothing at all to shut up people who actively fight against other people’s joy.

Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress, comedian, and talk show host Sherri Shepherd has been announced as the next Genie in Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway — becoming the first woman ever to play the role.

Shepherd will begin a limited engagement on October 16 at the New Amsterdam… pic.twitter.com/X8gAXlZuso

— Blackish Press (@blackishpress) September 8, 2026

It’s as ridiculous to claim that Hermione is canonically white as it is that the Genie is a man, as if it were impossible for him, if that’s somehow too hard for you to accept, to turn into a woman. Of course, all this will continue, and it will happen again, in the eternal Groundhog Day the Internet has become, with a few people crying over the pop culture most people enjoy without a problem. What a world this is.