3 of the original cast members from Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy have offered a show of support for actors of color involved with Amazon Prime’sThe Rings of Powerseries, while the cast of the new show itself has also banded together in solidarity. Given the number of racist attacks suffered by the non-white actors in the series recently, it seems to have been only a matter of time before an official statement was made, and not a moment too soon.
Elijah Wood, who played Frodo in the originalLord of the Ringstrilogy, shared a Twitter post featuring a picture of himself alongside Dominic Monaghan (Merry) and Billy Boyd (Pippin) with the caption “You Are All Welcome Here.” In the picture, he and his fellow hobbits could be seen wearing shirts printed with an elvish translation of the caption along with ears of various Middle-Earth races in a variety of skin tones.Rings of PowerstarIsmael Cruz Córdovaadded his own grateful reply of “Much love,” whileSean Astin(Sam) joined in as well with a photo of himself wearing a hat using the same design.
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But they weren’t the only ones to speak out. The officialLord of the Ringson Prime Twitter accountoffered its own statement from the show’s cast later on as well. Using the hashtag #YouAreAllWelcomeHere and the caption, “We stand in solidarity with our cast,” the new kids on the block shared their collective thoughts in a set of images. “We, the cast ofRings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily basis. We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it,” the statement began.
“JRR Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural,” they continued. “A world in which free peoples from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil.Rings of Powerreflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in Middle-earth and they are here to stay.” For those unfamiliar, BIPOC stands for “Black, Indigenous, and people of color.” It’s difficult not to have seen the sorts of attacks suffered by actors like Córdova (who playsArondir inThe Rings of Power) by people who seem to think that Black people somehow don’t belong in a world that’s already entirely fictional.
“Finally,” the statement went on in its final image, “all our love and fellowship go out to the fans supporting us, especially fans of colour who are themselves being attacked simply for existing in this fandom. We see you, your bravery, and endless creativity. Your cosplays, fancams, fan art, and insights make this community a richer place and remind us of our purpose. You are valid, you are loved, and you belong. You are an integral part of theLOTRfamily – thanks for having our backs.”
The extension of this support to theBIPOC community within the fandomas well was certainly a welcome touch, and it should hopefully help any devotees out there who may have felt isolated seeing attacks against actors who look like them.
The idea that racism has no place in any sort of fan community is one that deserves to be spread far and wide like this.Star Warshas to deal with it in cases likeMoses Ingram continuing to suffer verbal attacks, andLord of the Ringsis unsurprisingly infected as well. But here’s hoping statements like these become the norm, showing fans and stars alike that everyone truly is welcome.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerdrops new episodes Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.
