Three of the Hobbits from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie trilogy pose for a photo in defense of the cast of the Prime Video series ‘The Rings of Power’, whose members of color are facing a wave of racism.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to suffer waves of harassment following the presence of actors of color to play Humans, Dwarves or Elves in Tolkien’s universe. In order to raise awareness of this state of affairs and ask that it be stopped, several people took the floor; including faces familiar to Lord of the Rings fans.
Three of the Hobbits from Peter Jackson’s trilogy: Elijah Wood (who played Frodo), Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan (Merry) thus pose in support of the victims of racist harassment within the cast of the Amazon Prime series, with t-shirts promoting inclusivity in Middle-earth:
A Online Store with these T-shirts and hoodies are even offered, and the money raised will go “to a cause supporting people of color”. Guest of the show The ViewWhoopi Goldberg has also taken a stand in favor of diversity in The Rings of Power and the Game of Thrones series House of the Dragon, currently broadcast on the side of OCS:
They are fictional characters, to begin with. (…) Are you telling me that black people can’t play fictional characters too? I don’t know if there is a Hobbit club and if they will protest but anyway, what are you doing?!
Amazon Studios / Ben Rothstein Ismael Cruz Cordova plays the Rounding Elf
Furthermore, the Official Twitter of the series also wanted to show its support for the victims:
“We, the cast members of the Rings of Power, stand together in solidarity against the relentless racism, threats, harassment and abuse that some of our colleagues of color have experienced on a daily basis. We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.”
They continue:
JRR Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multicultural. A world in which free people of different peoples and cultures unite, in community, to fight against the forces of evil.
The Rings of Power reflects this. Our world, like fantasy or Middle-earth, has never been entirely white. The BIPOC belong to Middle-earth and will remain there.
BIPOC is an acronym designating in the language of Shakespeare: “Black, Indigenous and People Of Color”. The union of the casts – of the series as of the films – sends a strong message of solidarity to the victims. The series message ends with a dedication to the fans:
“Finally, all of our love and friendship goes out to the fans who support us, especially the fans of color who themselves are under attack simply for existing in this fandom. We see you and your bravery and your relentless creativity. Your cosplays, fancams, fan art and your insight enriches this community and reminds us of our goals. You are validated, loved and rightful and an integral part of the Lord of the Rings family. Thank you for watching over us.”