Whoopi Goldberg has slammed racist fantasy fans who have trolled black actors cast in both Game Of Thrones’ prequel House Of Dragons and The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power.
House Of Dragons star Steve Toussaint has recently spoken about being targeted by racist trolls who claimed he doesn’t match author George RR Martin’s depiction of his character in the novel the show is based off of.
Meanwhile, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power’s Ismael Cruz Córdova addressed racist trolling he has received while his co-star Lenny Henry condemned fans who have a problem with the inclusion of black cast members.
Slammed: Whoopi Goldberg has slammed racist fans who trolled black actors cast in both Game Of Thrones’ prequel House Of Dragons and The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power
Addressing the racist backlash to both shows, Whoopi, 66, pointed out that both programmes are set in fictional worlds as she spoke on US talk show The View.
The Sister Act star told trolls to ‘get a job’ as she slammed them for accepting ‘dragons and hobbits’ but not black actors being cast in the shows.
‘We would like to see as many people representing in fantasy as exist. So all of y’all who have problems because there are Black hobbits… Get a job! Get a job! Go find yourself, because you are focused on the wrong stuff,’ she said.
‘The new Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power, and Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, are both massive hits, but they don’t exist in the real world. There are no dragons, there are no hobbits, you know that.’
Racism: House Of Dragons star Steve Toussaint has spoken out about being targeted by racist trolls who claimed he doesn’t match author George RR Martin’s depiction of his character
She added: ‘There are critics who are saying [the shows] were too woke by adding diverse characters. Are you telling me Black people can’t be fake people too? Is that what you’re telling me?’
Fellow The View presenter Sunny Hostin joined Whoopi in condemning the racist trolling, expressing her bemusement at the criticism of the HBO Game Of Thrones prequel and Amazon Prime Video’s Lord Of The Rings series.
She said: ‘What I think is fascinating is dragons are ok, fire-breathing dragons, and people with white hair that are born like that when they’re little, and violet eyes, but the Black people in it is just a bridge too far for these folks.’
Their comments come after black actors in both franchises have recently hit back at the nasty criticism and trolling they have been subjected to.
Fantasy: Addressing the racist backlash to both shows, Whoopi, 66, pointed out that both programmes are set in fictional worlds as she spoke on US talk show The View
Rings of Power and new Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon both include a more inclusive cast, but some trolls have criticised the diverse casting.
House of the Dragon star Steve Toussaint responded to racist trolls who claimed he doesn’t match author George RR Martin’s depiction of his character in the novel the show is based off of.
The Game of Thrones prequel series takes place 172 years prior to the events in the original show, and it dives into the history of the iconic Targaryen House.
Created by Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal, the story is adapted from a portion of Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood.
In the HBO Max series, Steve, 57, plays Lord Corlys Velaryon – the leader of the House Velayron, which is one of the closest allies to House Targaryen and the richest house in Westeros, and a good friend to King Viserys.
Diversity: Rings of Power and House of the Dragon (pictured Steve Toussaint at Corlys Velaryon) both include a more inclusive cast, but trolls have criticised the diverse casting
He is the captain of a ship and is described by Vulture as ‘the most skilled seafarer in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, having embarked on a series of famous journeys to distant lands dubbed the Nine Voyages.’
However, some people were unhappy with Toussaint’s casting because they felt he didn’t fit Martin’s description of his character.
But Toussaint has responded to the nasty critics, explaining that people of ‘his hue’ were a huge part of history.
‘So many people are basing their idea of the history of this country on a few films and stuff that were made in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, which don’t bear any resemblance to the truth,’ he told Men’s Health recently.
‘Historically, people of my hue and your hue, we didn’t just turn up here in the ’70s or the ’60s.
Trolls: Elsewhere, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power actor, Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays a Silvan Elf called Arondir, has spoken out about racist trolling he received
‘There was a point when the ruler of his country, ‘the Caesar,’ was an African man. There are street names that tell you there were people who looked like us in this country even then, but for some reason, it seems to be very hard for people to swallow.
‘They are happy with a dragon flying. They’re happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes, but a rich black guy? That’s beyond the pale.’
Steve reminded people that the show is not intended to be exactly like the book, and he admitted that he didn’t even read it before starring as Lord Corlys.
‘George Martin sent us all signed copies of the book. I was going to read it, then I thought, no. What I have to represent is what they’ve written in the script,’ he explained.
‘They’re going to take liberties with it for dramatic purposes. So I didn’t want to read his interpretation or know what happened to my character.’
Cruel: Ismael was cast as the first ever black elf in the franchise but said he has been subject to ‘pure and vicious hate speech’ online
But he said he’s taking it all ‘in stride’ and feels ‘sanguine’ about the whole thing, adding that ‘for every toxic person, there have been so many others who have been so supportive.’
And on set, he said he felt nothing but love and support, adding: ‘Even when we were doing certain scenes, there would be supporting artists who would come up and go, ‘It’s great to have this representation.”
Elsewhere, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power actor, Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays a Silvan Elf called Arondir, has spoken out about racist trolling he received.
Ismael was cast as the first ever black elf in the franchise but said he has been subject to ‘pure and vicious hate speech’ online.
Criticism: Lenny Henry has also spoken out about racism within the fantasy genre as he stars as hobbit Sadoc Burrows in The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power
He told Esquire: ‘I fought so hard for this role for this very reason. I felt that I could carry that torch. I made sure that my elf was the most Elven, the most incredible, because I knew this was coming.’
And his co-star Lenny Henry has also spoken out about racism within the fantasy genre as he stars as hobbit Sadoc Burrows in The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.
The actor, 64, said that effort was being made to make the genre ‘more inclusive’ after the original Lord of the Rings films featured no Black characters.
In a recent interview with GQ, Lenny said: ‘They have no trouble believing in a dragon, but they do have trouble believing that a Black person could be a member of the court. Or that a Black person could be a hobbit or an elf.’
‘Actually, storytellers can do what they want, because they’re storytellers. In the reimagining of these stories from 1000 years ago, they are not part of the canon that everybody knows, this is a reimagining and re-weaving of the story.’
Casting: The actor, 64, said that effort was being made to make the genre ‘more inclusive’ after the original Lord of the Rings films featured no Black characters
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