JK Rowling has been forced to defend the casting of a South Korean actress for the role of Nagini in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel.
Claudia Kim was revealed to be playing Nagini, a human with cursed blood who has the ability to transform into a snake, in the final trailer for the upcoming Crimes Of Grindelwald but some fans are concerned that the series – which in the past has been criticised for lacking any representation of persons of colour – has decided to try and shoe horn a woman of colour into a leading role but one which is a submissive character that is the property of villain Voldemort.
Listen Joanne, we get it, you didnt include enough representation when you wrote the books. But suddenly making Nagini into a Korean woman is garbage, wrote one fan after the news of Kims casting, but Rowling responded to defend the decision.
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The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name “Nagini”. They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi, she wrote, before concluding, have a lovely day and adding the snake emoji.
The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name Nagini. They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Have a lovely day
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 26, 2018
But the authors answer did not appease concerns, with one replying to suggest Rowling has repeatedly [tried] to retroactively shoe horn representation into your books which did not exist in the texts, belittling the communities youre trying to take credit for championing wed like to know why you think this is appropriate.
Another reminded Rowling that the greater concern is a wider issue of diversity and the problem with Nagina is that (1) Asians are peripheral in a white-centric world, (2) Asian women exist to mainly serve white mens interests, and (3) Asian men dont exist at all.
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The upcoming movie has also been criticised for the decision not to focus on the romance between Albus Dumbledore (played by Jude Law) and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
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Director David Yates confirmed that the movie will not explicitly reference Dumbledore as gay – even though its been over 10 years since JK Rowling confirmed his sexuality – with Yates claiming that as fans are aware of his sexuality, there was no need to mention it on screen.
The film has also hit headlines for Rowling and Yates response to concerns that they had cast Depp in a main role, despite accusations of domestic violence and physical assault levelled against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Yates told Entertainment Weekly: With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something. I can only tell you about the man I see every day: Hes full of decency and kindness, and thats all I see. Whatever accusation was out there doesnt tally with the kind of human being Ive been working with.
Depp denied the allegations, and after the divorce was finalised, the exes said in a statement: Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is out in the UK on 16 November 16, 2018.
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