‘Harry Potter’ Star Katie Leung Was Told to Deny Racist Attacks From Fans
Actress Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter franchise, disclosed that publicists told her to deny any racism she faced from fans while filming the series.
On the 14th episode of the “Chinese Chippy Girl” podcast, Leung opened up about the racist messages and comments she saw online. She talks about a vivid memory where she was googling herself and came across a website dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom and saw a lot of racism towards her Chinese descent. This included a page where she saw the number of people who disagreed with the casting for her character.
Leung was only 16 years old when she was cast and did not receive any media training before interviews for the series. Even though the star witnessed the comments online with her own eyes, she was told to pretend they didn’t exist even if she was directly asked about them.
The comments on this article are disgusting but as someone who was part of the Harry Potter fandom, Katie Leung is spot on. People in the community were horrible to her. People cannot seem to decipher fiction from reality. https://t.co/fvYOMOcCUQ
— BRIANA⁷ 💫🍒 (@brianaxreads) March 11, 2021
“I was really — grateful that I was in the position I was in,” Leung said. “I keep saying, ‘Oh I wish I’d maybe said something.’ But you can’t do that.”
I am really grateful that Katie Leung is speaking up about the racist BS she had to put up with playing Cho Chang as a teen. Talking about it helps young Asian femme ppl and women without her platform know they’re not alone. The studio should have had her back. https://t.co/MlFQrfdZ5K
— Laura J. Mixon, M.Sci. (@LauraJMG) March 11, 2021
In the Harry Potter franchise, Leung appeared in Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Deathly Hallows: Part 2. She has also appeared in movies like The Foreigner and Locked Down as well as TV shows like One Child, Strangers, and Roadkill.
We hope that Leung calling out the racism she experienced encourages the film industry to strive towards a more inclusive environment for all.
To listen to the full 59-minute podcast, you can visit Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other streaming services.
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