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Percy Jackson Author Rick Riordan Defends 12 Year Old Leah Jefries from Racist Attacks Over her Annabeth Casting

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The response to the casting of Leah has been overwhelmingly positive and joyous, as it should be. Leah brings so much energy and enthusiasm to this role, so much of Annabeth’s strength. She will be a role model for new generations of girls who will see in her the kind of hero they want to be.

If you have a problem with this casting, however, take it up with me. You have no one else to blame. Whatever else you take from this post, we should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong. As strong as Leah is, as much as we have discussed the potential for this kind of reaction and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative comments she has received online are out of line. They need to stop. Now.

I have been clear, as the author, that I was looking for the best actors to inhabit and bring to life the personalities of these characters, and that physical appearance was secondary for me. We did that.  We took a year to do this process thoroughly and find the best of the best. This trio is the best. Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase.

Some of you have apparently felt offended or exasperated when your objections are called out online as racist. “But I am not racist,” you say. “It is not racist to want an actor who is accurate to the book’s description of the character!”

Let’s examine that statement.

You are upset/disappointed/frustrated/angry because a Black actor has been cast to play a character who was described as white in the books. “She doesn’t look the way I always imagined.”

You either are not aware, or have dismissed, Leah’s years of hard work honing her craft, her talent, her tenacity, her focus, her screen presence. You refuse to believe her selection could have been based on merit. Without having seen her play the part, you have pre-judged her (pre + judge = prejudice) and decided she must have been hired simply to fill a quota or tick a diversity box. And by the way, these criticisms have come from across the political spectrum, right and left.

You have decided that I couldn’t possibly mean what I have always said: That the true nature of the character lies in their personality. You feel I must have been coerced, brainwashed, bribed, threatened, whatever, or I as a white male author never would have chosen a Black actor for the part of this canonically white girl.

You refuse to believe me, the guy who wrote the books and created these characters, when I say that these actors are perfect for the roles because of the talent they bring and the way they used their auditions to expand, improve and electrify the lines they were given. Once you see Leah as Annabeth, she will become exactly the way you imagine Annabeth, assuming you give her that chance, but you refuse to credit that this may be true.

You are judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks. She is a Black girl playing someone who was described in the books as white.

Friends, that is racism.

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.

Watch the show or don’t. That’s your call. But this will be an adaptation that I am proud of, and which fully honors the spirit of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, taking the bedtime story I told my son twenty years ago to make him feel better about being neurodivergent, and improving on it so that kids all over the world can continue to see themselves as heroes at Camp Half-Blood.

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STAY ON THEIR NECKS KING! cry0

Leah is going to do an absolutely fucking incredible job in this role. I cannot wait to see what she brings to such an iconic and special character! 

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It is understandable that readers of a book would like the movie characters to look the way they have been described in the book though. I don't particularly think this has anything to do with race but simply the fact that the character will not match the image most readers have created in their heads.

If a character is written as having blonde hair, casting a blonde actress and keeping her hair color would probably get a similar reaction.

2 hours ago, Shawn's Slave said:

Were people this upset when Brandy was casted as Cinderella? brit1

That adaption of Cinderella was intended to be a multi-cultural version though and it was one of many adaptions of the story. Therefore, you cannot really compare the situation.

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Actually, that entire cast is shit:

This is what Percy Jackson is supposed to look like...

tumblr_olj1n4nCyb1txtjalo7_1280.jpg

Logan Lerman was the PERFECT actor to play him. What have they cast now?

GettyImages-1374141521-H-2022.jpg?w=1024

Looks absolutely nothing like him or what he was described as in the books.

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4 hours ago, Madonna said:

Actually, that entire cast is shit:

This is what Percy Jackson is supposed to look like...

tumblr_olj1n4nCyb1txtjalo7_1280.jpg

Logan Lerman was the PERFECT actor to play him. What have they cast now?

GettyImages-1374141521-H-2022.jpg?w=1024

Looks absolutely nothing like him or what he was described as in the books.

Why does it matter really though? The author has clearly stated he wasn’t interested in casting solely on a look, he was interested in casting actors that accurately brought out the characters’ personality as he imagined them. So what if they look different? This happens in almost every single book adaptation from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings. The cast all looked different from how they’re described in the book yet nobody said a word. 

Imagine arguing with the author, the man who created these characters, that the cast is not good enough to represent the characters he created solely based upon their appearance.

Rick Riordan was very unhappy with the casting of the film primarily because the actors were too old, but he has never had any hangups about them looking different to his descriptions physically (aside from their age) and he carried that mentality over to the show. 

What’s more, what is there to say Percy’s actor won’t dye his hair black? What’s to say Annabeth’s actress won’t dye her hair blond? And if they don’t, does it matter? Their physical characteristics were not plot points and bore no relevance to the narrative so why all of the sudden should their appearance matter? It changes nothing from a narrative standpoint. 

I have not yet gotten to see Leah’s acting, but Walter is a fantastic actor and will be an incredible Percy regardless and I know Leah will he an incredible Annabeth. There is no reason to be upset, these characters will be accurate to their depiction in the book in every way other than maybe how they appear aesthetically. 

There is especially no reason to be upset to the point that a 12 year old girl faces ACTUAL racism from grown ass adults online. 

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4 hours ago, Urbi said:

I didn’t know we’re getting another Percy Jackson adaptation. First two movies were absolutely dog shit though rip3 

There’s reason to be excited for this one!

Rick is heavily involved from casting to writing. He and Disney are committed to doing an adaptation that actually represents the books. Telling the story as it’s meant to be told. 

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8 hours ago, Chris said:

When was this? brit3 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(1997_film)

It's very old (when Brandy was it girl). jj2

7 hours ago, Madonna said:

That adaption of Cinderella was intended to be a multi-cultural version though and it was one of many adaptions of the story. Therefore, you cannot really compare the situation.

It's linked to the outrage over the Ariel (the little mermaid) cast... which is linked to this Percy cast. brit1

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3 hours ago, Mr. Mendes said:

Why does it matter really though? The author has clearly stated he wasn’t interested in casting solely on a look, he was interested in casting actors that accurately brought out the characters’ personality as he imagined them. So what if they look different? This happens in almost every single book adaptation from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings. The cast all looked different from how they’re described in the book yet nobody said a word. 

Imagine arguing with the author, the man who created these characters, that the cast is not good enough to represent the characters he created solely based upon their appearance.

Rick Riordan was very unhappy with the casting of the film primarily because the actors were too old, but he has never had any hangups about them looking different to his descriptions physically (aside from their age) and he carried that mentality over to the show. 

What’s more, what is there to say Percy’s actor won’t dye his hair black? What’s to say Annabeth’s actress won’t dye her hair blond? And if they don’t, does it matter? Their physical characteristics were not plot points and bore no relevance to the narrative so why all of the sudden should their appearance matter? It changes nothing from a narrative standpoint. 

I have not yet gotten to see Leah’s acting, but Walter is a fantastic actor and will be an incredible Percy regardless and I know Leah will he an incredible Annabeth. There is no reason to be upset, these characters will be accurate to their depiction in the book in every way other than maybe how they appear aesthetically. 

There is especially no reason to be upset to the point that a 12 year old girl faces ACTUAL racism from grown ass adults online. 

1. Do you think he had that much of a say? Imagine if he had ruled out POC actresses for the role... He had no other choice and he could not have said anything else.

2. Yes, people did actually complain a lot about lots of unnecessary changes made to the Harry Potter franchise f.e. It just wasn't something that was thematized or highlighted by the media because a racial conflict always serves for a better story. 

3. It doesn't change the narrative but the many fans who have read the books have an image in their heads that will not be translated into this adaption (not even in the slightest with that type of casting).

4. The thing that is most annoying about all of this is, that I am very much in support of a diverse cast. But studios, Disney in particular, are doing the absolute most with their casting choices lately. The worst part about all of this is that they are not doing this out of genuine support, it's mostly to not get cancelled. Instead, they should do what they have been doing lately and actually WRITE more movies with POC LEADS.

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5 hours ago, Madonna said:

1. Do you think he had that much of a say? Imagine if he had ruled out POC actresses for the role... He had no other choice and he could not have said anything else.

He could have said that he was not satisfied with the cast and he would have gained the support of the right and all of those who bully and are racist to that little girl rn.

Look at J.K.Rowling.....yes she has lost support of the liberals and the left on the internet but her Harry Potter books still sell like crazy in real life and she has massive support from the conservatives. 

This author specifically said in this statement that he was not coerced into accepting this or anything else. 

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1 hour ago, Atlantis Princess said:

He could have said that he was not satisfied with the cast and he would have gained the support of the right and all of those who bully and are racist to that little girl rn.

Look at J.K.Rowling.....yes she has lost support of the liberals and the left on the internet but her Harry Potter books still sell like crazy in real life and she has massive support from the conservatives. 

This author specifically said in this statement that he was not coerced into accepting this or anything else. 

He is not JK Rowling though and the Percy Jackson franchise is not enjoying the same WW popularity. Trust me, he definitely didn’t have much of a say in this.

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4 hours ago, Madonna said:

He is not JK Rowling though and the Percy Jackson franchise is not enjoying the same WW popularity. Trust me, he definitely didn’t have much of a say in this.

You have decided that I couldn’t possibly mean what I have always said: That the true nature of the character lies in their personality. You feel I must have been coerced, brainwashed, bribed, threatened, whatever, or I as a white male author never would have chosen a Black actor for the part of this canonically white girl.

 

So he was talking about people like you lmfao1

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20 hours ago, Madonna said:

He is not JK Rowling though and the Percy Jackson franchise is not enjoying the same WW popularity. Trust me, he definitely didn’t have much of a say in this.

Rick Rioardan is not a man who marches to the beat of anyone’s drum but his own. Through his entire career, he has been known to not mince words on what he thinks and what he feels. When the Percy Jackson films were coming out, he was very open with the fact that he didn’t think the cast was appropriate because they were too old.

He was very open that he didn’t like the changes they made to his narrative. He has never, even been shy about speaking how he feels even if it meant hurting a relationship with a major studio. He is no different now. He casted this show, and if he didn’t, he wouldn’t lie and say he did.

He has to make a whole statement because of people like you. I’m so tired of you crawling out of the woodwork to be a dick whenever people of color start succeeding. 

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If the author has no problems with it, the readers definitely shouldn't...

Actually, that entire cast is shit: This is what Percy Jackson is supposed to look like... Logan Lerman was the PERFECT actor to play him. What have they cast now? Looks abs


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