A new film featuring Peter Andre as a Jamaican gangster has divided the internet and forced the Mysterious Girl singer to delete his teaser posts for his big movie role. The trailer for the movie, titled Jafaican, was released this week, leaving many viewers in fits of laughter thanks to Peter’s character.
However, some have raised an eyebrow at the fact that Peter dons a dreadlock wig and puts on a Jamaican accent for his feature film outing. Many have questioned “why is Jamaica always the butt of the joke” and some have even gone as far to brand the film racist.
The plot is teased as follows: “Desperate to secure £35,000 for his gran’s care, small-time crook Gazza jumps on a risky tip-off and hatches a daring scam. With just 21 days to pull it off, he must immerse himself in Jamaican culture to con his way between London and Jamaica.”
The two-minute trailer kicks off with Gary Buckle (Gazza), player by Peter, in London, describing himself as a ‘wheeler-dealer and troublemaker’. However, he soon finds himself in a tight spot when he’s told he needs to fork out £35,000 for his grandmother’s care home fees.
After a failed attempt to quickly amass wealth through a poker game, Gazza is forced to explore other options, eventually agreeing to impersonate a gangster for a hefty sum of £3 million.
His journey takes him to Jamaica, where he’s tasked with ‘posing as the gangster, steal his dough and hope to live’. Gazza then proclaims ‘all I’ve got to do is learn the Jamaican accent’, leading viewers to witness his exaggerated attempts – complete with a faux dreadlocks wig.
Peter shared the trailer with his fans on both Instagram and Twitter (X) on Tuesday but has since deleted his tweet amid a massive backlash. “This is actually so gross and I don’t know why Jamaica is always everybody’s punchline. Wishing the worst for everyone involved especially you Peter Andre,” one critic fumed.
Another added: “Just saw the trailer for @MrPeterAndre new film disrespecting Rastafari – a religion in Jamaica – and mocking Jamaican culture in general, guess what he plays – a white Jamaican criminal. I want to know why these people don’t find stereotypes about their own culture to film.”
“A couple of years ago, Peter Andre was a presenter on GB News. This actually tracks, lol. It’s on brand for him,” one wrote as they quoted Peter’s now-deleted tweet featuring the trailer. Another added: “There’s a movie coming out with Peter Andre in a dreadlock wig pretending to be Jamaican. Is this really what we’re doing in 2025?”
However, a few viewed the trailer as funny. “Sorry a film where Peter Andre has to pose as a Jamaican gangster to pay for his Grans care home. It might just be peak art,” one Twitter user sarcastically wrote. However, some social media users have praised Peter’s latest venture, with one writing: “When will we get to watch it can’t wait.”
“Congratulations Peter I’m so happy for you well done your acting is perfection. I’m so looking forward to seeing it I can’t wait I’m so excited,” said a second. A third wrote: “Congratulations Peter well done looking forward to seeing it.”
Amid the backlash on Tuesday, the official Instagram account for Jafaican shared a screenshot of an article covering the reaction to the trailer with the headline: “Peter Andre debuts ‘disturbing’ fake Jamaican accent in bonkers new movie trailer.”
“WHO DONT LOVE A GOOD STORY..” the account captioned the screenshot. “The film will be out in selected cinemas in May so make sure you follow us here and @jafaicanthemovie for more info, to win tickets and get exclusive behind the scenes scoop.”
The Mirror has contacted Peter Andre for comment on this story.
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