Netflix miniseries Adolescence has been lauded by critics and the audience for its outstanding performances and exceptional cinematography. Now, two weeks after its release, the show is once again in the news and this time for all the wrong reasons. The creators of the show have been accused of ‘race-swapping’ with many online claiming that show is inspired by a true crime committed by a black child. Several others even called the show ‘anti-white’. These claims were amplified by Elon Musk who reacted to one such claim on X, and commented “Wow”.
Now, the co-creator-writer of the show, Jack Thorne has rejected these claims, saying it is absurd to say that (knife crime) is only committed by Black boys. Speaking on The News Agent podcast, Thorne said, “They have claimed that Stephen and I based it on a story, and another story, so we race-swapped because we were basing it on her and it ended up there, and everything else. Nothing is further from the truth.”
Wow
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 20, 2025
Thorne said he has heard a lot of real life stories in his time, and understand the harm that can come when people take elements of a real life story and put it on screen.
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“There is no part of this that’s based on a true story, not one single part,” claimed Thorne.
Jack Thorne also reacted to people who suggested the culprit in the show should have been a black boy and called it absurd. “History shows a lot of cases of kids from all races committing these crimes. We are not making a point about race with this, but about masculinity. We are trying to get inside a problem. We are not saying this is one thing or another, we are saying that this is about boys.”
Adolescence premiered on Netflix on March 17. The British-crime-drama revolves around a 13-year-old boy who is arrested for the murder of a classmate. The show, according to Netflix, has broken all records for a limited series and garnered 66.3 million viewers in two weeks.