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JK Rowling is facing allegations of racism after Claudia Kim’s character in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel was revealed.
The South Korean actress plays Lord Voldemort’s pet snake Nagini in The Crimes of Grindelwald – a character who is later beheaded by Neville Longbottom in The Deathly Hallows.
Rowling revealed Nagini is a Maledictus – a female who carries a blood curse from birth which eventually results in them turning into a beast.
The revelation unsettled some fans who branded the casting racially insensitive as Nagini is a cursed woman who is submissive to a man.
Under fire: Author JK Rowling has sparked a backlashPAOne Twitter user posted: “Do...do the people behind Fantastic Beasts really not see the issue with having Nagini, Voldemort’s *pet* who is *beheaded* in the final book, actually be an Asian woman? *That’s* the Asian representation?”
Another wrote: “I feel like this is the problem when white people want to diversify and don't actually ask POC how to do so. They don't make the connection between making Nagini an Asian woman who later on is the pet of a white man. So I'm going to say it right now. That s*** is racist.”
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A third posted: “Wooooow just when you thought the idea behind this film couldn’t get any worse they make Nagini an Asian woman. Which means she was a submissive Asian woman for a white male this entire time......a racist trope and fetish.”
The upcoming film, which sees Eddie Redmayne return as magizoologist Newt Scamander, has faced several bouts of criticism with Rowling forced to shut down trolls who lambasted her decision to not address Albus Dumbledore's sexuality.
Fans were hoping that the second film in the franchise would reference the famed wizard’s homosexuality after director David Yates spoke about the Hogwarts headmaster's “intense” relationship with Grindelwald.
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Rowling tweeted: “Being sent abuse about an interview that didn't involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that's only one instalment in, is obviously tons of fun, but you know what's even *more* fun?” She posted the tweet alongside the gif of a man hitting a mute button.
There was also a backlash over the casting of Johnny Depp as Grindelwald following domestic abuse allegations levelled against him by his ex wife Amber Heard. He denied the claims.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is slated for release on November 16