‘Harry Potter’ Films Star Jason Isaacs Calls Out “Racist” Fans Over Paapa Essiedu’s Snape Casting Backlash
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key TakeawaysJason Isaacs is not here for the backlash over the casting of Paapa Essiedu in the role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series.
TheWhite LotusSeason 3 star, who starred in the originalHarry Potterfranchise as Lucius Malfoy, and in a recent interview, called out fans who have an issue with Essiedu taking on the role of Snape.
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AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R16ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R26ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“Paapa Essiedu is one of the best actors I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve seen some people online who are being rude about him. What they’re being is racist,” Isaacs said at FanExpo Denver (via Collider). “All the cast of the new Harry Potter TV series are amazing. They will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully — you know, their digital tongues — when they see what [Paapa] does on screen.”
The chatter on social media shifted to anti-trans activist and author J.K. Rowling, as fans questioned her stanceon the Essiedu casting.
“I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series, and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did,” Rowling posted on X, the microblogging platform formerly known as Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk. “I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
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Alan Rickman portrayed the role of Snape in the original Harry Potter films.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1cekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2cekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeOther actors cast in the Harry Potter TV series for HBO include John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
RELATED: ‘Harry Potter’ HBO Series Casts Draco & Lucius Malfoy, Dursleys, Molly Weasley & More
Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton have been cast as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
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