Rings of Power Condemns Trolls for Relentless Racism and Harassment in Official Statement #YouAreAllWelcomeHere

You probably heard about it, it’s everywhere online these days: Internet trolls are relentlessly attacking Amazon’s new series, The Rings of Power, for the diversity of its cast among other things. Middle Earth, being such a large place, would naturally be filled with people of multiple origins and colors, so it stands to reason to feature Tolkien’s world as such. Unfortunately, it seems that no everyone agrees with this.

J.R.R. Tolkien himself said: “I have the hatred of apartheid in my bones; and most of all, I detest the segregation or separation of Language and Literature. I do not care which of them you think White,” so I’m sure he would be outraged what is happening online right now with the show.

To fight against these trolls, the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings issued the following statement:

“We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subject to one a daily basis,. We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.

“JRR Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. Rings of Power reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white. Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in middle-earth and they are here to stay.

“Finally, all our love and fellowship go out to the fans supporting us, especially fans of colour who are themselves being attacked simply for existing in this fandom. We see you, your bravery, and endless creativity. Your cosplays, fancams, fan art, and insights make this community a richer place and remind us of our purpose. You are valid, you are loved, and you belong. You are an integral part of the LORT family -thanks for having our backs.” The statement concludes with the elvish word “Namárië,” meaning “Farewell.”

The original Hobbits also show support for this initiative:

You are all welcome here. Indeed.