*If you haven’t heard, racist Internet trolls have lost their collective mind because a black actress has been chosen to play Hermione Granger in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play in London.
We’re thrilled to confirm Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni & Paul Thornley will play Harry, Hermione & Ron #CursedChild pic.twitter.com/s1rsDbrXMO
— Harry Potter Play (@HPPlayLDN) December 21, 2015
And the creator of everything Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, has no problem with that.
The role of Hermione, made famous in the film versions by Emma Watson, will be played by Swaziland-born actress Noma Dumezweni.
Rowling said on Twitter that the character’s skin color had in fact never been specified in the books.
“Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione,” she wrote, adding a kissing emoji at the end.
Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione ? https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015
However, many combative readers posted scans of the same passage from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Don't give a dam about Hermione ethnicity. BUT for all those saying her ethnicity was never mentioned in the books.. pic.twitter.com/2nPWwCweWZ
— Danny Allen (@DannyAllenUK) December 21, 2015
Trolls grabbed this and other tidbits from the books to defend against what they saw as the play’s ruining of the character. As always, more defenders than not came out to praise Dumezweni’s casting in The Cursed Child. That, or poke fun at the hoopla.
THEY CAST A BLACK HERMIONE???? *BURSTS INTO BLACK GIRL MAGIC TEARS* https://t.co/QH7Jonsw5W
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) December 20, 2015
I assume the people mad that Hermione is black are equally outraged about all the times white actors played Othello.
— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams) December 21, 2015
If you think they're mad now, just wait until they figure out Hermione is a girl.
— Norm Wilner (@normwilner) December 21, 2015
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