Lord Of The Rings: Rings of Power, the prequel to the fantasy film franchise The Lord of The Rings, will release its next episode on Prime Video this Friday, September 16. While the buzz around the show remains at a high pedestal, one cannot ignore the ‘racial criticism’ it is facing on social media. The casting of more people of colour has drawn the ire of fans, who feel that the casting does not truly reflect JRR Tolkien’s work.
Now, Cynthia Addai-Robinson who essays the role of Queen Regent Míriel in the Amazon Prime Video show has responded to “the relentless racism, threats, harassment and abuse” levelled at the series’ actors in regards to its diverse cast.
Addressing the trolls who have been “review-bombing” the series and targeting the show’s POC actors, Addai-Robinson said that she doesn’t want to engage in the “toxic thing.” “I would engage in a healthy debate on a topic that I felt was coming from a place of respect and intelligence,” she said, in an interview with NME.
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Addai-Robinson says that she would never consider such individuals – who are trolling the show on racial grounds – as fans. “They have agendas. And I just legitimately don’t engage; I just don’t go there. I don’t respect it. It’s not worth giving it any oxygen,” the actress adds.
Days ago, in a post on the series’ official Twitter account, the cast collectively stood by their co-actors of colour, reiterating that Tolkien created a world that was at its core multi-cultural. “We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it,” they wrote.
We stand in solidarity with our cast. #YouAreAllWelcomeHere pic.twitter.com/HLIQdyqLmr
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) September 7, 2022
The collective statement further reads, “A world in which free people from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. Rings of Power reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in Middle-earth and they are here to stay.”
