JK Rowling Disappointed by Racist Fans

J K Rowling, the world-famous author of the best-selling Harry Potter novels, has recently weighed in on the controversy caused by the casting of black actress Noma Dumezweni in the forthcoming stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. 

Olivier Award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni was recently cast as a leading role in the upcoming Harry Potter stage show and is set to play the studious heroine witch Hermione Granger. The production is rumoured to be one of the theatrical events of the year, with ticket sales already breaking records by selling a massive 175, 000 tickets in 24 hours. Despite Dumezweni’s numerous acting awards, a number of fans have displayed very negative reactions to the casting of a black actress as Hermione, a character made famous by white-British actress Emma Watson.

Many fans, disillusioned by the character’s drastic change in skin colour, hit out at the decision, claiming that Hermione must be white because in the books it never explicitly described her skin colour, but did specify the skin colours of other characters of different ethnicities. Fans also claimed that the books described Hermione’s face as ‘turning white’ in a scene.

JK Rowling, the author of the books, has expressed deep disappointment with fans over the racial dispute. Despite the majority of people being positive about the change, the author revealed she was frustrated by the online backlash of “a bunch of racists.” Rowling insisted that Dumezweni got the role because she was simply “the best actress for the job.” Regarding those criticising the casting, she said: “With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot.”