The actress of Harry Potter, Katie Leung, has recalled the racist attacks she suffered while playing Cho Chang in the hit film franchise.
According to Variety, Leung appeared as a guest on Monday’s episode of the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast and spoke about her personal experience regarding the abuse she suffered online while filming Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Leung said that she started seeing hateful pop-ups on the internet shortly after she was cast in the role, but that she was advised to deny that it was happening to her.
“He was googling me at one point, and I was on this website, which was dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom. I remember reading all the comments. And, yeah, it was a bunch of racist shit.”. Leung said.
Leung, who was born in Scotland and is of Chinese descent, joined the cast of Harry Potter at the age of 16 and appeared in all subsequent films in the franchise. As a rising star, Leung admits that he entered the industry with very little experience, so he followed the instructions of his publicists, who advised him not to speak out about the racist attacks.
“I remember they said to me, ‘Oh look Katie, we haven’t seen these, these websites that people are talking about. And you know, if they ask you that, just say it’s not true. Say it’s not happening.’, Leung recalled. “And I just nodded. I thought, ‘Okay, okay,’ even though I’d seen it with my own eyes. I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll just say everything is okay.'”.
Leung didn’t make it clear whether this advice came from personal advertisers or studio representatives, though he said he sometimes wished he had spoken out about the racist comments at the time. “I was really very grateful to be in the position that I was in.”, He said. “I keep saying, like, ‘Oh, I wish I had said something.’ But you can’t do that.”.
After premiering in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Leung became a recurring cast member, appearing in Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2.
Then again, while Hogwarts schoolbooks have been in storage for some time, there might be a reason to dust them off again soon, as WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar has spoken about the possible expansion of the Harry Potter franchise on HBO. Max.
It is currently unknown what role Harry Potter author JK Rowling will play in possible future additions to the franchise, particularly those that come from entertainment companies that have the rights to create Harry Potter projects.