‘Harry Potter’ potentially casting a Black man as Snape sparks racist reactions
Want to see the worst of Britain on display? Bring up anything to do with Harry Potter. The franchise has become mired in transphobia over the past few years due to JK Rowling’s increasingly unhinged obsession with trans women, and racism has always been embedded into the series as well. Rowling did not think to put many characters of color into her books, and when she did, they were usually poorly written with ill-thought-out names.
Now, there’s about to be a lavish HBO TV adaption of Harry Potter, and big news about it broke yesterday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paapa Essiedu, a Black actor who starred in the highly acclaimed I May Destroy You, is being considered for the role of Severus Snape.
As you can imagine, Elon Musk’s far-right platform X, once known as Twitter and a much nicer place, has exploded into even more overt racism than usual following the news. British conservatives are complaining that the casting choice is “woke,” and moaning about how this would never be accepted if a white actor played a traditionally Black character, even though this has happened many, many times.
Actors of color face incredible racism when they’re cast to play what people think is a “white role.” Look at the bullying Halle Bailey received after being cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, or what Rachel Zegler is facing right now after accepting the role of Snow White. A lot of the time, the production companies involved don’t bother standing up for them. It’s a huge problem, and no one seems to have faith that HBO will protect Essiedu if he does take the role.
Having a Black man play Snape leads to complex issues
Snape is a good part for an actor, but Rowling dropped the ball on writing him. By the final book, she presented him as a hero, but that didn’t change the fact that Snape was a creepy incel and a member of the Nazi-like Death Eaters. He was also an abuser of the children in his care and an all-round horrible person. Former Mary Sue-er Princess Weekes said it best on Bluesky, “There are so many layers to this potential Snape casting that makes me want to pull my hair out. The way it opens up more complex racial dynamics that the book does not live up to aside … if they keep Lily white (which … now that will have even more tragic white women symbolism) it will be so gross.”
Other people have pointed out similar issues. As one Bluesky user wrote, “I think black people playing McGonagall and/or Dumbledore would be great. I’m not sure about the optics of having a black man join what is heavily coded as a white supremacist organization.”
Meanwhile, JK Rowling is attacking a Black sportswoman for not being feminine enough for her liking. No matter who is cast as Snape, the Harry Potter series is shaping up to be a horrible mess. We all should have let the franchise die years ago.
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