‘Percy Jackson’ Author Condemns Racist Attacks On Black Actress Cast In Disney+ Series

etcanada.com:

Last week, Disney+ announced its lead cast for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”, the upcoming series based on Rick Riordan’s popular “Percy Jackson” book series.

While Walker Scobell was cast as the titular 12-year-old demigod Percy, it was the casting of Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase that rankled some fans — because a Black actress was cast as a character depicted as white in the books.

After being announced for the series, Jeffries shared an Instagram video to reveal that her TikTok account had “banned” due to people complaining about her casting. “They literally took down my whole account,” she said. READ MORE: Disney+ Beginning To Cast New ‘Percy Jackson’ TV Series Riordan took to Twitter to slam racists attacks on Jeffries, issuing a scathing denouncement that he posted on his website. “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,” Rick Riordan writes. “You should never judge someone by how well they fit your preconceived notions.