North West recently performed ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’ At the Hollywood Bowl Anniversary production of The Lion King and sadly her performance drew a ton of criticism.
North West performs I Just Can’t Wait to Be King at the Lion King: 30th Anniversary Concert at The Hollywood Bowl pic.twitter.com/iLddmgUBJP
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) May 25, 2024
Some said it was another case where nepotism brought us mediocracy and others made the point that she wasn’t prepared.
There are also a ton of videos on TikTok that claim her performance was a slap in the face for kids who are ‘actually talented’ and auditioned for the role.
Disney should be embarrassed they cast North West as Young Simba for Lion King’s 30th anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl. There are dozens of talented kids who are currently playing the roles of Young Simba & Nala all over the world let alone the other kids who auditioned
— TPMvids (@TPMvideos) May 27, 2024
and:
So apparently this mum whose daughter auditioned to be in the lion king performance spoke about how Kim kardashian pulled some strings to get north west to perform #lionking #kimkardashian #NorthWest ???? pic.twitter.com/oHpESCscHV
— Yakuza (@JaysNftsArts) May 27, 2024
One social media user said
, ‘She looks great and it seems like she’s having a lot of fun, but I’m definitely not gonna bypass the fact that we all know she wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t who her parents were. This is classism at its finest!’
Read more thoughts below:
Look, North West’s Lion King performance was absolute garbage.
But as a dad, if I could afford to give my daughter an orchestra and an audience for her favorite song, I would.
So I can’t hate on a kid who didn’t ask to be born into the spotlight.
Also, F*ck Kanye West! pic.twitter.com/QPAUfEBEbh
— Top Conservative (@DocReichenbach) May 27, 2024
and
Imma say it… North West did a horrible job on the Lion King! You can tell she never went to practice, they just plopped her in last min. pic.twitter.com/P9pEH0uAQN
— Payola (@Pay_Olaa) May 25, 2024
and
It needs to be said: North West was not good in The Lion King. And her family/production did her no favors in letting her go on anyway. Not all kids are good at all things and they need to be taught that. There were likely dozens of experienced kids that should have been cast.
— Rae The Writer (@WriteAsRae) May 26, 2024
According to the Daily Mail while some blasted the eldest child of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, others have taken to social media to push back against the vitriol.
‘North West’s Lion King performance was so cute – she’s a child, like y’all need to calm down,’ wrote one.
Y’all don’t like Kim, so y’all take it out on North? Why are people posting videos of her Lion King performance talking about how much better it would be it was actually a talented kid??? That’s a baby! Why are y’all being weird?’ asked another.
One wrote, ‘The world is really so cruel sometimes. North performed for some Hollywood Lion King play, and they are ripping that little girl apart online. She is a child…’
and another did a video in support of the child:
@xvanessaxmariex Again. Should a role go to the most talented person? Absolutely. But if yall are really that mad about it that you think its okay to come on the internet and say awful things about a child who might be finding a new hobby or passion, you have issues. ???????? #northwest #lionking #kanyewest #kimkardashian #foryoupage ♬ original sound – ✨ Vanessa Marie ✨
Earlier this month, it was announced that North was cast in the live-to-film concert event which ran for two nights on May 24 and May 25.
The Hollywood Bowl can notably hold up to 17,500 people and tickets for the concert began at $60.