Emma Stone opens up about Aloha casting controversy

Emma Stone has opened up about the "whitewashing" controversy surrounding her film Aloha, after director Cameron Crowe was criticized for failing to hire enough Asian-Pacific Islanders to appear in the film, which is set in Hawaii.

The Almost Famous filmmaker's latest project was panned earlier this year (15) before it even hit cinemas, as critics, including activists at the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), blasted Crowe and the film's producers over the romantic comedy's cast, which includes Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams.

In particular, Stone played the role of Allison Ng, a character based on a real person, who is a quarter Asian and a quarter Hawaiian.

Crowe has since apologized for his casting decision, and now Stone has opened up about the scandal for the first time, saying, "I've learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It's ignited a conversation that's very important.

"There's a lot of conversation about how we want to see people represented on screen and what we need to change as a business to reflect culture in a clearer way and not in an idealised way... There are some flaws in the system... My eyes have been opened in many ways this year."