The Rings of Power cast pushes back against “racism, threats, harassment, and abuse”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that anytime a person of color dares to show their face on TV, or a female character has a prominent role in something, an army of backwards dipshits on the internet will crawl out of their holes and curse whatever show or movie they’ve chosen to be mad at that day for being too “woke,” for “pushing an agenda,” or any number of other euphemisms that boil down to, “there’s a Black/female/queer person on my TV and I don’t like it.”

And that’s the mild version. There’s also plenty of outright bigotry; just ask Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays the elf Arondir in Amazon’s new show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, who said he woke up every day for years to find his DMs packed full of “pure and vicious hate speech.”

These sorts of bigoted backlashes have been going on for a long time; the difference now is that the people behind the shows and movies at issue are doing something about them. For instance, actors John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran were hit with a tsunami of racism online back when the Star Wars sequel movies were coming out, and Disney pretty much left them to fend for themselves. But by the time that Obi-Wan Kenobi was airing on Disney+ earlier this year, the company had a system in place to help actors like Moses Ingram deal with the racist backlash they correctly assumed would come.

Obviously, it would be best if these sorts of hateful backlashes didn’t happen at all, but if they’re going to, the studios might as well acknowledge it and try to take corrective measures. Condemning this stuff could go a ways towards curtailing it.

And that brings us back to The Rings of Power. Amazon put out this statement the other day regarding the racist hatred directed at its cast members of color:

"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. We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.JRR Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural. 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. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in Middle-earth and they are here to stay.Finally, all our love and fellowship go out to the fans supporting us, especially fans of color who are themselves being attacked simply for existing in this fandom. We see you, your bravery, and endless creativity. Your cosplays, fancams, fan art, and insights make this community a richer place and remind us of our purpose. You are valid, you are loved, and you belong. You are an integral part of the LOTR family — thanks for having our backs."

I do think it’s a little curious that this message is from “the cast of Rings of Power” — I think it would make a stronger statement if executives at Amazon added their voices — but it’s definitely the right tack to take.

Elijah Wood and the Hobbits welcome fans of all kinds to Middle-earth

The stars of the original Lord of the Rings movies from the early ’00s got in on the messaging, as well. Below, Elijah Wood (Frodo), Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan (Merry) wear shirts that say “You Are All Welcome Here” in Sindarin elvish.

I guess Sean Astin (Sam) was elsewhere that day, but he pitched in as well:

The Boys boss tells off sexist trolls

Relatedly, the other day The Boys star Erin Moriarty (Starlight) wrote about how she’s felt “silenced,” “dehumanized” and “paralyzed” by the relentless onslaught of sexist comments she’s received online since taking on this role. If she’d talked about this even a few years ago, I’m not sure she would have gotten support from on high. But because there’s been a movement to push back against trolls rather than just tolerate them as a normal cost of doing business, The Boys showrunner Erik Kripke wrote this on Twitter:

None of this will put an end to bigotry and sexism online, but I do like to see more open condemnation of the practice from those at the top of the food chain.

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