The white heroine of "Percy Jackson" becomes black? The original author criticizes racial remarks

Recently, Disney+ series "Percy Jackson" officially announced the main cast, with the female lead Annabeth Chase being played by black girl Leah Jeffries. Previously, in the movie version of "Percy Jackson", the character was played by Daddario, and the change of skin color made some netizens dissatisfied. Rick Riordan, the author of the original novel, responded to this in a post.

Rick Riordan said: "You are judging her for the role based solely on her looks. She is a black girl playing a character that is described as white in the book. My friend, this is racist."

D'Addario

Riordan believes that the true essence of a character lies in their personality, "You feel like I must have been forced, brainwashed, bribed, threatened, etc., otherwise, as a white male writer, I would never have chosen a black actor to play this typical white girl." Riordan called this a misunderstanding and chose Leah entirely based on her merits. Anyone can be a hero.

Riordan said: "Leah brings so much energy and enthusiasm to the role, and brings a lot of Annabeth's strength. She will be a role model for a new generation of girls. They will see in her the kind of hero they want to be... If you have opinions about the casting, you can raise them to me. You can't blame anyone. We should be able to reach a consensus that bullying and harassing a child online is an unforgivable mistake. Leah is strong, and we have discussed the possibility of such a reaction and the tremendous pressure that this role will bring. The negative comments she received online are inappropriate and these behaviors need to stop."

“If you’re still upset about the casting of the main trio, then it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read the books, you haven’t learned anything from them.”

Original author Rick Riordan

The Percy Jackson series is one of the world's best-selling young adult fiction series. The Disney+ series Percy Jackson will tell the story of Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, a young man on earth. Previously, Percy Jackson was adapted into a movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympian Lightning Thief in 2010 and Percy Jackson and the Sea of ​​Monsters in 2013.