We’ve seen this before, and we’re tired of it.
British-Ghanaian actor Paapa Essiedu has faced intense online backlash — including death threats — since being cast as Professor Snape in HBO’s new Harry Potter adaptation. The reaction is predictably troubling. It’s the same ugly cycle we’ve watched play out too many times: Black actors are targeted simply for stepping into roles that certain audiences have decided should only be white.
We watched it happen to Halle Bailey, who endured vile racist abuse for daring to be Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid. We watched it happen to Zendaya, one of the most talented performers of her generation, when she was cast as MJ in the Spider-Man franchise. We’ve watched it happen to Idris Elba, who can’t so much as be mentioned in the same sentence as James Bond without drawing racist fire. Every single time, the backlash reveals more about the people doing it than the casting itself.
This time, Essiedu is acknowledging the toll this takes. In a recent interview, he noted that no one should face threats simply for doing their job. He’s right. This isn’t a debate about his work, which we’ve yet to even see. It boils down to some people refusing to accept anything other than their own version of a character.
That entitlement is especially strange over the Wizarding World built by J.K. Rowling. Her work has long carried problematic undertones that have prompted many thoughtful fans to critically reevaluate their relationship with the series. The fans loudest in this backlash seem unbothered by any of that. Their outrage is selective in ways that tell you everything. The fact that an audience can conjure entire wizarding worlds in their imagination, but cannot picture a Black man holding a wand in that world, is mind-boggling and needs to be called out.
But heed this: Essiedu isn’t going anywhere. He’s committed to this series for ten years, and he has been clear-eyed about what that commitment means. The louder the backlash gets, the more it exposes the ignorance of those screaming it.
Racist fans are not the guardians of these stories. Black people love magic and mysticism just as much as the next fan. We deserve to see ourselves in these worlds simply because we have the right to embody them.
Harry Potter has been in the world for more than 25 years, and it has always meant different things to different people; it belongs to everyone who has found something real in it.
It’s time to let the series adapt with all types of actors bringing their takes to the iconic roles. That’s exactly what living stories do: they grow and evolve.
Congratulations on landing Professor Snapes, Mr. Essiedu. We can’t wait to see what you do with it.