It was really only a matter of time before someone made a film about Rob Ford.

Toronto’s infamous mayor, who passed away in 2016, made headlines across the world in early May 2013 after Gawker and the Toronto Star published details about a grainy cellphone video that was being shopped around for six figures showing the politician smoking crack cocaine. It was a story that not only made Ford a household name, but also catapulted Robyn Doolittle’s career as an investigative reporter. Just seven years out of university, she was one of the first journalists to uncover the story of Ford’s dangerous double life.

But don’t expect to see Doolittle in the upcoming big-screen adaption. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming thriller entitled Run This Town will star Damian Lewis as Rob Ford—with the help of prosthetics, obvs—and Ben Platt of Dear Evan Hansen fame as the reporter attempting to expose the politician. No shade to Platt, but this isn’t exactly the casting we wanted to see, and Doolittle seems to feel the same.

During her time at the Toronto Star, Doolittle’s name became synonymous with the Ford family both because of her numerous in-depth stories and the 384-page portrait she penned, Crazy Town, which detailed Ford’s controversial (to say the least) rise to power. That’s right, she literally wrote the book on this dude and yet was seemingly written out of the film.

Yes, it was Gawker editor John Cook that first broke the story of the crack tape, and yes, Doolittle worked alongside senior investigative reporter and editor Kevin Donovan on the Star‘s investigative team. We know stories of this magnitude and importance do not happen without the efforts of many people. But the fact that all these reporters are being combined into yet another narrative of an intrepid male journalist is just so disappointingly predictable.

Platt responded to Doolittle’s tweets explaining that the film won’t be focused on the team at the Toronto Star, but rather a fictionalized team of reporters at a rival paper.

As one particularly astute Twitter user pointed out, when we do see female journalists portrayed in films, they seem to share a common narrative. Not sure what it is? Think How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Never Been Kissed, House of Cards and more recently, Trainwreck. 

Other social media users, and some of Doolittle’s fellow journalists, also expressed their disappointment in the casting choice.

Canadian actors Nina Dobrev and Mena Massoud, who is also starring in Disney’s live-action Aladdin, have reportedly also signed on to the film as Ford’s aides. According to THR, the film is currently shooting in Toronto until May, and it is unclear when it will be released. But tbh, if you want the real story of what went down, give Crazy Town another read.

Filed under: Rob Ford, Robyn Doolittle