Publicists told Harry Potter star Katie Leung to deny racist comments from fans

Harry Potter star Katie Leung (Cho Chang) remembers the racism she saw among some fans when she joined the franchise, and the publicists who told her to deny it.

Katie Leung was introduced to Harry Potter fans in 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where she played Cedric Diggory’s girlfriend Cho Chang. Leung, who was born in Scotland and of Chinese descent, went on to star in four more Harry Potter films, including movies like Locked Down and The Foreigner. Appearing on the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast, Leung remembered being cast in the series at the age of 16, and some of the antipathy she saw about herself among fans online.

“I was Googling myself at one point, and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom,” Leung recalled. “I remember reading all the comments. And, yeah, it was a lot of racist shit.”

Sitting here in 2021, I don’t think that’s terribly surprising to hear. It reminds me of the kind of treatment actors like Kelly Marie Tran and John Boyega got from some corners of the Star Wars fandom when they joined that franchise. A lot changed in the decade between Goblet of Fire and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and a lot more has changed since then. Both Boyega and Tran, who were older than Leung was at the time of her casting, were open about their experiences with the racist contingents of the fandom. But the teenaged Leung heeded the advice of publicists.

“I remember them saying to me, ‘Oh, look Katie, we haven’t seen these, these websites that people are talking about. And you know, if you get asked that, just say it’s not true. Say it’s not happening,’” Leung remembered. “And I just nodded my head. I was like, ‘Okay, okay,’ even though I had seen it myself with my own eyes. I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll just say everything’s great.’”

"I was really fucking grateful that I was in the position I was in. I keep saying, ‘Oh I wish I’d maybe said something.’ But you can’t do that."

We don’t know if those publicists were from Warner Bros. or working with Leung personally.

Again, I don’t think this story is surprising at all. What’s changed is how people think about these issues. I hope when similar things happen now actors feel more comfortable shining a spotlight on it.

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h/t Variety