Earlier this month, it was announced that Disney+’s upcoming series adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians had rounded out its main trio with the casting of Aryan Simhadri (Cheaper by the Dozen) as Grover and Leah Sava Jeffries (Empire) as Annabeth alongside Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson. However, so-called fans of the series have expressed criticism of Jeffries’ casting as the character was originally described as white in the novel series.
Now, taking to his personal website, Rick Riordan, the creator and author of the Percy Jackson series, has called out these “fans” for their racist comments towards the young actor.
“I was quite clear a year ago, when we announced our first open casting, that we would be following Disney’s company policy on nondiscrimination: We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, gender, race and ethnicity, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law. […] I have been clear, as the author, that I was looking for the best actors to inhabit and bring to life the personalities of these characters, and that physical appearance was secondary for me. […] You refuse to believe [Leah’s] selection could have been based on merit.”
He continued: “Without having seen her play the part, you have pre-judged her (pre + judge = prejudice) and decided she must have been hired simply to fill a quota or tick a diversity box. Once you see Leah as Annabeth, she will become exactly the way you imagine Annabeth, assuming you give her that chance, but you refuse to credit that this may be true… You are judging her appropriateness for this role solely and exclusively on how she looks. […] Friends, that is racism. Racism/colorism isn’t something we have or don’t have. I have it. You have it. We all do. And not just white people like me. All people. It’s either something we recognize and try to work on, or it’s something we deny. Saying “I am not racist!” is simply declaring that you deny your own biases and refuse to work on them.”
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is set to follow the journey of the titular 12-year-old demigod (Scobell), who’s just coming to terms with his newfound identity as the son of the Greek god Poseidon when Zeus accuses him of stealing his lightning bolt.
Riordan and Jon Steinberg (Black Sails) will be writing the pilot episode with James Bobin (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) directing. Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz will be overseeing the project and serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg. The series will be produced by 20th Century Television and is set to begin production in Vancouver this summer.
