Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has responded to accusations of 'racial insensitivity' in the forthcoming spinoff movie Fantastic Beasts 2, after the trailer was released earlier this week.
The teaser revealed that South Korean actor Claudia Kim will play the part of Nagini - who, as Potter fans will know, later becomes a snake and the pet of the sinister Voldemort.
However, after some fans suggested that it was 'racist' to cast an Asian woman as a character who would later become the pet of a white man, Rowling took to Twitter and offered the following response:
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Rowling has previously faced accusations of a lack of diversity in the world of Harry Potter, and one fan had tweeted the author - also a producer on the new movie - directly to accuse the casting of Kim as 'representation as an afterthought'.
Teen author Ellen Oh had earlier posted: "It's okay to love problematic things. I'll be the first to say that the Harry Potter series made me want to write children's books. But let's also talk about the problems. This feels like a problem.
"I feel like this is the problem when white people want to diversify and don't actually ask POC how to do so. They don't make the connection between making Nagini an Asian woman who later on is the pet of a white man.
"So I'm going to say it right now. That shit is racist."
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Another person on Twitter added: "Throughout the HP books, Nagini's role is a pet and an object (horcrux) to white man Voldemort. She died as an object, just like how the other horcruxes were destroyed. What makes you think it's okay to cast an Asian woman in that role?"
LADbible has contacted Warner Bros. for comment.
Rowling had earlier clarified that Nagini is not an Animagus like Professor McGonagall, who can transform into animals at their own will, but a Maledictus.
For those not fluent in wizard speak, that means Nagini suffers from a blood curse, knowing that one day she'll permanently be trapped as a snake.
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Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Topics: Harry Potter, Film, Entertainment, TV and Film
