Orlando Bloom Hits Back at Criticism of 'The Prince' and Claims Series Is 'Malicious' Toward Prince George

Orlando Bloom responds to critics alleging that the portrayal of the royal family in HBO Max's The Prince is malicious toward Prince George. "[It's not] intended to be," Bloom told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020. He continued on, further defending creator Gary Janetti. "He's really got his finger on the pulse, Gary. He's so smart and so zeitgeisty. I rolled the dice on it, but I'm going to have to mention it to Prince Harry when I next see him, because I'm not going to be able to not. Oddly, I'm sure I'm going to see him at some point, just because of the nature of the universe, it always throws people together."

Bloom voices the character of Prince Harry on the HBO Max animated series. It was originally scheduled for a Spring 2021 premiere, but due to the death of Prince Phillip, the show's debut was delayed until July. Fans weren't responding to kindly to Bloom's portrayal. "Katy Perry I really respected your husband as an actor up until learning he had taken up a role in HBO's vile cartoon The Prince which parodies children who can't fight back! What if it was your daughter they were mocking!?" someone wrote. "There are obviously much worse things going on in the world right now, I know this. But the fact not one of these grown-ass adults took issue with playing a part in bullying a real-life 8-year-old kid (via HBO's 'The Prince') is rank and I've lost all respect for them, tbh," another fan said.

Bloom eventually shared that Perry was the person who initially convinced him to take the role. "Initially, I was like, 'Hmm, how do I feel about this,' because I'm a British boy who's very proud of my roots. I understand how the royal family is loved by some and loathed by others, and I've always understood it as part of my heritage and background. I'm not someone who wants to poke fun at anyone normally, but this was so clever, witty and affectionately done," Bloom told the Hollywood Reporter. "Actually Katy saw one bit of it and was like, 'You've got to do this. This is genius.' And the animation is done by some of the guys who did Family Guy, so it's going to be very amusing. And who doesn't love the royal family?"