Sunday Tribune

Rick Riordan condemns racist backlash to casting decision

SONIA RAO

RICK Riordan, author of the popular Percy Jackson young adult novels, has defended the casting of a young Black actress in the role of Annabeth Chase, a character initially written as White, in an upcoming Disney Plus television adaptation of the fantasy series.

The actress, Leah Jeffries, has faced ridicule online since last week’s casting announcement for the Greek mythology-inspired show, which follows a demigod named Percy Jackson and his two best friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood.

In response to the comments, Jeffries filmed a video – later shared on Twitter – in which she said: “Stop doing that. I know you think that it’s going to hurt me, though. It’s not. You’re just wasting time. I’m still confident in myself.”

While noting the response to Jeffrie’s casting had been “overwhelmingly positive”, Riordan wrote in a blog post the racist comments toward Jeffries were “out of line” and “need to stop”.

“You are upset/disappointed/

frustrated/angry because a Black actor has been cast to play a character who was described as white in the books,” he said, adding “judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks ... is racism”.

Riordan explained the casting process followed Disney’s “company policy on non-discrimination”, and that “these actors are perfect for the roles because of the talent they bring and the way they used their auditions to expand, improve and electrify the lines they were given”.

“If you’re still upset about the casting of this marvellous trio, then it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the books,” he wrote. “You didn’t learn anything from them.”

The casting announcement also included news the actor Aryan Simhadri, who is of South Asian descent, had landed the role of Grover, who

was also written as White in the books.

This isn’t the first Percy Jackson adaptation to star actors of different races than the original characters; in the 2010 film Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, starring Logan Lerman in the title role, Grover was played by Brandon T. Jackson, who is Black.

The racism directed toward Jeffries echoed the experiences of other Black actresses in young adult adaptations, such as Amandla Stenberg.

Despite author Suzanne Collins describing the Hunger Games character Rue as having “dark brown skin and eyes”, Stenberg faced widespread racism online after she was cast as Rue in the 2012 film.

In 2016, Noma Dumezweni also faced an onslaught of racism after she was cast as an adult Hermione Granger in the West End production

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. “It drives me crazy. It’s a limitation. Because this is absolutely a different form.” |

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2022-05-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

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