Noma Dumezweni on Racism and Playing Hermione

Since the announcement of the casting choices for the trio in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, there has been much discussion surrounding the casting of Noma Dumezweni as Hermione. Many fans have welcomed Dumezweni with open arms, but some have been very vocal in their disappointment with the choice to cast a woman of color in a role depicted in the films as white.

Said Dumezweni of some of the things people have been posting about her on Twitter:

“My name is being tagged into stuff that’s not nice, that’s not nice.”

She adds:

“It’s ignorance. It drives me crazy. It’s a limitation. Because this is absolutely a different form.”

Michael Gambon and other Potter alumni have voiced their support for Dumezweni, as has J.K. Rowling herself, who reminded readers on Twitter that Hermione’s race had never been defined in the books.

Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione ? https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015

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