Author Rick Riordan has condemned social media trolls and the racist backlash over the casting of young actress Leah Sava Jeffries in the role of Annabeth Chase in the upcoming “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” TV series for the Disney+ service.
Disney+ announced the casting of Jeffries and Ayran Simhadri as Annabeth and Grover Underwood on May 5th, the pair starring alongside Walker Scobell in the title role. The casting followed a full year search for young actors to inhabit the roles with the pair selected following a lengthy process.
Jeffries says in an Instagram video that her TikTok account has been banned thanks to people upset with her casting and lashing out: “They literally took down my whole account.” In a blog post, Riordan slammed the attacks:
“The core message of Percy Jackson has always been that difference is strength. There is power in plurality. The things that distinguish us from one another are often our marks of individual greatness.
You should never judge someone by how well they fit your preconceived notions. That neurodivergent kid who has failed out of six schools, for instance, may well be the son of Poseidon. Anyone can be a hero.
If you don’t get that, if you’re still upset about the casting of this marvelous trio, then it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the books. You didn’t learn anything from them.”
In a separate post, Jeffries added: “To whoever is hating — stop doing that. I know you think it’s going to hurt me. It’s not. You’re just wasting time.” Disney and Jeffries’ family are working to restore her TikTok account.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” centers on the title character, a 12-year-old who learns he is a demigod. He is just coming to terms with his newfound powers when the sky god, Zeus, accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt.
Percy embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to find the lightning bolt and return it to Olympus. Annabeth and Grover are his two biggest allies in the books.
She is a daughter of Athena who becomes Percy’s guide at Camp Half-Blood, a training ground for demigods, while he helps her navigate the human world. Grover is a satyr disguised as a 12-year-old boy, who will always jump in to defend his friends even if it means putting himself in danger.
Source: THR
