“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
Stars defend themselves against racist hostility
Sophia Nomvete plays the dwarf woman Disa in “The Rings of Power”.
© Amazon Prime Video
Frightening hostilities towards racism are taking place around “The Rings of Power”. Something the cast doesn’t “ignore or tolerate.”
From the official The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Twitter account the cast has taken a stand against the racist attacks some cast members of the Amazon Prime series are facing. Together we stand “in absolute solidarity against merciless racism, threats, harassment and insults” directed against BIPoC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color).
The three-part tweet continued, “We refuse to ignore or tolerate it. JRR Tolkien created a world that is by definition multicultural. A world where free peoples of diverse ethnicities and cultures come together in community to… to defeat the forces of evil. […] Our world has never been entirely white, imagination has never been entirely white, Middle-earth is not entirely white.”
Thanks to the tolerant fans
Finally, the cast would like to thank all viewers, especially those who are themselves affected by the hostilities mentioned. “You matter, you are loved, you belong. You are an integral part of the Lord of the Rings family – thank you for supporting us.”
Because of the commitment of non-white actors for the roles of elves and dwarves, the series was targeted by opponents of an alleged “Wokeness dictatorship”. On the “Rotten Tomatoes” review collection page, professional critics currently (as of September 8) rated the series positively with 85 percent. In the user ratings, “The Rings of Power” only gets 39 percent of 100. Some observers interpret this as a sign of deliberate troll attacks against alleged political correctness.
Also “House of the Dragon” affected
The second major fantasy series currently running, “House of the Dragon” from the “Game of Thrones” universe, is also confronted with toxic hate comments. Steve Toussaint (57), one of the stars of the series, reported in conversation with “Men’s Health” that some series fans have a problem with the fact that he was cast to play Corlys Velaryon. There are viewers who are “happy with a flying kite”. “You’re happy with white hair and violet eyes, but a rich black man? That’s unacceptable.”