>“I’ve been told, ‘Quit or I’ll murder you,’” Essiedu told The Sunday Times of London in a new interview.
>“It really matters. The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ So while I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be murdered…That could age badly! But, yes, while I hope I’ll be OK, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in ‘Harry Potter.’ And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
>“But the abuse fuels me,” he continued in the interview. “And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That’s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they’d rather I died instead of doing work I’m going to be really proud of.”
Bebop_Man on
Average Harry Potter Adult reaction.
ElasticPlatypus on
My sympathies to him but this is such an impossible lose lose lose scenario. People are pissed for him taking a role and putting money in JK Rowling’s pocket. People are going to hold you to Alan Rickman’s performance. AND there’s a batch of loud terminally online psychos out there who hate you just for being black
Good for him he can just put his head down, put in the work and this will all be over soon. Oh right. This is going to take minimum SEVEN YEARS of his life. Godspeed
Fyrefawx on
Fandoms genuinely ruin everything. It’s like Star Wars fans attacking the cast because they didn’t like the sequels.
Actual weirdos.
PayneTrain181999 on
Keyboard warriors who are pissed that it isn’t Adam Driver aside, he probably knew or was told something like this was likely to happen.
Johnny0230 on
The discussions and reactions in the age of social media. A choice like this may or may not be liked, but here it goes too far. Then they say they love Harry Potter, and I emphasize Harry Potter.
commandrix on
He should make sure the police have everything. The unserious threats will probably be easiest to trace and go nowhere. But at least he’ll have it on file if someone actually follows through.
Redstorm8373 on
My only problem with him as snape is that he’s far too handsome for the role.
Either way, death threats to an actor are never acceptable.
Chucky_In_The_Attic on
So these “fans” are just as bad as Rowling then.
jedidude75 on
Pretty disgusting to send death threats over an acting job.
GrahamCrackerDragon on
Like on twitter and Reddit? I receive death threats on there for asking for a good pizza recommendation. This isn’t a hate crime, it’s just the internet.
MrMegaPhoenix on
Because he’s Black or because he’s supporting Jk Rowling?
actual1 on
Snowflakes
AnonismsPlight on
Death threats on the Internet are overrated. I got some for saying Ash in R6 is broken and I received more for pointing out during last year’s world series the Blue Jays were expected to win against the Mariners by a 30% margin in Vegas and were still being treated like the underdogs the whole time. If he’s being called at home or being sent letters fine, but the Internet has basically made it a standard statement. My favorite is still the time I was talking about quitting smoking and how easy it was when I used the aid I did and I got privately messaged that they were going to end me for advertising.
AmbitionTechnical274 on
Was this during J.K. Rowling’s set visit?
Deserana12 on
It’s awful the harassment this actor will receive but it is hard to argue the point that this is entirely self-inflicted from HBO/Warner/Essiedu. No one asked or expected the recast, Essiedu could have said no. I’m normally all for a recast but this character is literally written to be a certain way and they’ve gone out of their way to go this direction.
I don’t endorse any such threats or comments but they are absolute idiots if they didn’t think this would happen.
sjokoladenam on
Unless he recieves many such messages shouldnt we just be ignoring them considering its probably from a mentally ill person or a person from a russian troll farm with intent to create further divide?
GreenLanturn on
I’m excited for the new series 🤷
DaKingaDaNorth on
Fandom being rational as always.
iceWarriorWho on
Honestly, he should just ask the producers to cast him asKingsley Shacklebolt. I think all the controversy and drama would go away.. and the racist undertones of plotlines for books 5/6
ineedtoknowmorenow on
How about not watch it. Jesus what a sad life you must have
AvailableReporter484 on
Death threats are wrong. That being said: it’s safe to ignore the death threats online as they’re mainly perpetrated by 11 year olds with Xbox live. Unless you’re a high ranking government official or have a stalker just tell those people to eat your ass.
Felis_bieti on
Death threats about a Harry Potter TV show character must be very real and taken seriously. /s
MyNameIsLOL21 on
I don’t think the casting, but this is just batshit bonkers behaviour.
Round_Lock8806 on
Remember guys Twitter isn’t real life. Otherwise scream 7 wouldn’t have broken scream 6s box office already. And hogwarts legacy wouldn’t have sold as many copies as it did.
LapsedVerneGagKnee on
The sad thing is I can’t tell if it’s racist Potter fans or people who hate Rowling that much.
Aevum1 on
I hate race swaps but it’s only a fuckiing tv show… Anyone who sends threats should really rethink their life….
Or be locked up.
OperationSnoringCat on
As long as he shaves his beard I think he’ll do amazing. People need to chill out.
28 Comments
>“I’ve been told, ‘Quit or I’ll murder you,’” Essiedu told The Sunday Times of London in a new interview.
>“It really matters. The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ So while I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be murdered…That could age badly! But, yes, while I hope I’ll be OK, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in ‘Harry Potter.’ And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
>“But the abuse fuels me,” he continued in the interview. “And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That’s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they’d rather I died instead of doing work I’m going to be really proud of.”
Average Harry Potter Adult reaction.
My sympathies to him but this is such an impossible lose lose lose scenario. People are pissed for him taking a role and putting money in JK Rowling’s pocket. People are going to hold you to Alan Rickman’s performance. AND there’s a batch of loud terminally online psychos out there who hate you just for being black
Good for him he can just put his head down, put in the work and this will all be over soon. Oh right. This is going to take minimum SEVEN YEARS of his life. Godspeed
Fandoms genuinely ruin everything. It’s like Star Wars fans attacking the cast because they didn’t like the sequels.
Actual weirdos.
Keyboard warriors who are pissed that it isn’t Adam Driver aside, he probably knew or was told something like this was likely to happen.
The discussions and reactions in the age of social media. A choice like this may or may not be liked, but here it goes too far. Then they say they love Harry Potter, and I emphasize Harry Potter.
He should make sure the police have everything. The unserious threats will probably be easiest to trace and go nowhere. But at least he’ll have it on file if someone actually follows through.
My only problem with him as snape is that he’s far too handsome for the role.
Either way, death threats to an actor are never acceptable.
So these “fans” are just as bad as Rowling then.
Pretty disgusting to send death threats over an acting job.
Like on twitter and Reddit? I receive death threats on there for asking for a good pizza recommendation. This isn’t a hate crime, it’s just the internet.
Because he’s Black or because he’s supporting Jk Rowling?
Snowflakes
Death threats on the Internet are overrated. I got some for saying Ash in R6 is broken and I received more for pointing out during last year’s world series the Blue Jays were expected to win against the Mariners by a 30% margin in Vegas and were still being treated like the underdogs the whole time. If he’s being called at home or being sent letters fine, but the Internet has basically made it a standard statement. My favorite is still the time I was talking about quitting smoking and how easy it was when I used the aid I did and I got privately messaged that they were going to end me for advertising.
Was this during J.K. Rowling’s set visit?
It’s awful the harassment this actor will receive but it is hard to argue the point that this is entirely self-inflicted from HBO/Warner/Essiedu. No one asked or expected the recast, Essiedu could have said no. I’m normally all for a recast but this character is literally written to be a certain way and they’ve gone out of their way to go this direction.
I don’t endorse any such threats or comments but they are absolute idiots if they didn’t think this would happen.
Unless he recieves many such messages shouldnt we just be ignoring them considering its probably from a mentally ill person or a person from a russian troll farm with intent to create further divide?
I’m excited for the new series 🤷
Fandom being rational as always.
Honestly, he should just ask the producers to cast him asKingsley Shacklebolt. I think all the controversy and drama would go away.. and the racist undertones of plotlines for books 5/6
How about not watch it. Jesus what a sad life you must have
Death threats are wrong. That being said: it’s safe to ignore the death threats online as they’re mainly perpetrated by 11 year olds with Xbox live. Unless you’re a high ranking government official or have a stalker just tell those people to eat your ass.
Death threats about a Harry Potter TV show character must be very real and taken seriously. /s
I don’t think the casting, but this is just batshit bonkers behaviour.
Remember guys Twitter isn’t real life. Otherwise scream 7 wouldn’t have broken scream 6s box office already. And hogwarts legacy wouldn’t have sold as many copies as it did.
The sad thing is I can’t tell if it’s racist Potter fans or people who hate Rowling that much.
I hate race swaps but it’s only a fuckiing tv show… Anyone who sends threats should really rethink their life….
Or be locked up.
As long as he shaves his beard I think he’ll do amazing. People need to chill out.