[People are angry about nonwhite elves in Middle Earth, and the
actors find themselves having to respond to the controversy. Yes, you
read that correctly.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

ELIJAH WOOD, ‘RINGS OF POWER’ CAST PUSH BACK ON RACIST FANS:
‘FANTASY HAS NEVER BEEN ALL WHITE’  
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Kylie Cheung
September 9, 2022
Jezebel
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_ People are angry about nonwhite elves in Middle Earth, and the
actors find themselves having to respond to the controversy. Yes, you
read that correctly. _

Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, and Billy Boyd pose in shirts that
read “You Are All Welcome Here.”, Screenshot: @elijahwood/Twitter

 

As online trolls continue to lose their shit
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the fictional existence of nonwhite elves in _Rings of Power_, the
show’s cast has released a statement condemning the harassment its
cast members of color have faced. Since the show, a prequel to the
events of the _Lord of the Rings_ movies, began streaming last week,
the internet has been alight with pretty unabashedly racist critics
claiming its inclusion of people of color is “historically
inaccurate” in the supposedly all-white fantasy world of Middle
Earth.

“We, the cast of _Rings of Power_, stand together in absolute
solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment and
abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
basis,” read a statement
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via the show’s Twitter account on Wednesday evening. The statement
argues that J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the _Lord of the Rings_ saga
on which _Rings of Power_ is based, “created a world which, by
definition, is multicultural.”

“A world in which free peoples from different races and cultures
join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. _Rings of
Power_ reflects that,” it continues. “Our world has never been
all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all
white. Bipoc [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] belong in
Middle-earth and they are here to stay.”

The current _Rings of Power_ cast isn’t alone—cast members from
the series’ _LotR_ predecessors appeared to stand in solidarity as
well, thanks to a tweet by Elijah Wood featuring a deeply nerdy photo
of himself, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd wearing shirts with text
that reads “You Are All Welcome Here” in the Elvish language
Neo-Sindarin, along with an assortment of differently shaped ears in a
range of skin tones. Lest you can’t read Neo-Sindarin (embarrassing
for you!), Wood captioned the photo, “You Are All Welcome Here.”
Wood played Frodo Baggins in the _LotR_ trilogy; Monaghan played one
of Frodo’s cousins, Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck; and Boyd played
Peregrin “Pippin” Took, another fellow hobbit.

The show of support from both _Rings of Power_ and _LotR_ cast
comes after Amazon was forced to pause
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ratings of the show on its platform for 72 hours on Saturday to stop
rampant review-bombing. On Rotten Tomatoes
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the show earned a strong 84% from critics, but has an audience rating
of 39%. It’s pretty clear based on social media posts that this
massive rating disparity extends from racist “fan” reactions,
which are also being legitimized by major media outlets like CNN,
which ran an op ed
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“When ‘wokeness’ comes to Middle-earth: Why some say diverse
casting ruins the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ series” over the
weekend.

I can’t emphasize enough that there’s absolutely zero basis for
any of this backlash. The world of _LotR_ may be based on Medieval
Europe, but this doesn’t exclude the (fictional) existence of Black
elves, or any other people or hobbits of color. Nothing is
particularly “unrealistic” in a fantasy series alive with
sorcerers, dragons, and a giant eye housing the spirit of an evil
wizard.

I’m glad to see the show’s statement of solidarity from its cast
and shows of support from former _LotR_ stars, but I can’t help
but hope more is being done to support _Rings of Power_ cast members
shouldering the brunt of the online abuse, behind the scenes. As some
(actual) fans of the show have pointed out
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statement doesn’t come with any indication that cast members of
color are receiving additional resources and support, like counseling
or social media training and tools to combat doxxing and stalking, all
of which can take a severe toll.

Racist backlash—particularly in some vocal corners of fantasy and
sci-fi genres—isn’t exactly new. But the experiences of _Rings of
Power_ cast members of color prove social media has exponentially
worsened these conditions.

* rings of power
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* lord of the rings
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* Racism
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* trolls
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* amazon prime
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* prime video
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