Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights is continuing to cause controversy following the release of the first trailer this week.

The film has been labeled ‘softcore porn’ by viewers, and it’s now being criticized by progressive social media users for its predominantly white cast.

Australian stars Margot Robbie, 35, and Jacob Elordi, 28, who are both white, have been cast in the lead roles as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff.

In the Emily Bronte novel, Catherine is a teenager, while Heathcliff is racially ambiguous and widely considered to be non-white. 

Social media reactions have been harsh, with one user stating, ‘I don’t want to be overly critical, but removing the class and racial differences from Wuthering Heights to market it as a sanitized romance really upsets me.’

Another wrote, ‘I will be complaining about Wuthering Heights for the foreseeable future as the very existence of a white Heathcliff offends me.’

A third commented, ‘I don’t care if this is seen as an “overreaction” but this film has already filled me with actual rage LOL. 

‘Heathcliff is not white (one of the MAIN themes of the novel), Catherine is supposed to be a teenager at OLDEST, and Wuthering Heights is not some romanticized booktok nonsense.’

Wuthering Heights has already been labeled ‘softcore porn’ by viewers, and it’s now facing criticism from progressive social media users for its Caucasian casting choices.

Another wrote, ‘Margot Robbie 40 years old playing a character that dies at 18 … welcome back Evita 1996.’

Another person remarked, ‘The Wuthering Heights adaptation being an erotic drama directed by Emerald Fennell, starring 35-year-old Margot Robbie and pale Jacob Elordi with original music by Charli XCX… BURN IT TO THE GROUND.’

The film’s casting director Kharmel Cochrane recently addressed some of the criticism during a Q&A session at the Sands film festival in Scotland.

Cochrane addressed concerns about both the Australian actors’ ages and Elordi’s ethnicity, by saying there is ‘no need to be accurate,’ because ‘it’s just a book’.

The casting veteran admitted that she’s currently catching a lot of heat for her work on Fennell’s adaption of the beloved classic novel. 

‘There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot,’ Cochrane said, per Deadline.

‘But just wait till you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not. But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book.

‘That is not based on real life. It’s all art,’ she added. 

Australian stars Margot Robbie, 35, and Jacob Elordi, 28, who are both white, have been cast in the lead roles as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff

Woke social media users are calling out the ‘white’ casting and have called Margot too ‘old’ for the role

‘There’s definitely going to be some English lit fans that are not going to be happy.

‘Wait until you see the set design because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it.’

The racy new version of Emily Bronte’s iconic novel is set to hit cinemas on Valentine’s Day, 2026. 

Those expecting a faithful adaptation of the beloved work may be in for a rude awakening as Emerald’s upcoming film is said to lean into the ‘stylised depravity’ she has become known for after directing the 2023 hit Saltburn.

This was echoed after test screenings last month, with some attendees appalled by the film’s jaw-dropping opening scene, which features a public hanging that sees the condemned man ‘ejaculate mid-execution’.