The cast of Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power is standing up to hate after being hit with racist backlash from fans of the original film adaptations and novels.
The Rings Of Power, a fantasy drama series that premiered on Prime Video this month, features people of colour as a number of the elves and dwarves in the series, a “major difference” from past adaptations of the J.R.R. Tolkien books, The Wrap noted.
The casting decisions have caused Amazon to temporarily suspend user reviews of the series on its platform due to people “review bombing” it.
The backlash led The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg to defend the cast and caused original Lord Of The Rings cast members to show their support for the new actors on social media.
The Rings of Power cast used the show’s Twitter account on Wednesday to send a clear message: It will stand up for its actors.
“We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily basis,” the cast wrote.
“We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.”
The cast went on to affirm that BIPOC “belong in Middle-earth and they are here to stay.”
You can read the full statement of support from the cast below.
Help and support:
- Tell MAMA supports victims of anti-Muslim hate.
- Young Minds offers information on racism and mental health for younger people.
- SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality) provides help to victims of hate.
- Stop Hate UK works to challenge all forms of hate.