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Harry Potter actor Katie Leung says she was told to lie about facing racist abuse from fans
Harry Potter actor Katie Leung has said that she was told to deny the racist abuse she'd faced during her time playing Cho Chang in the series.
Actor Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter series, has said that she was told to lie about facing racist abuse from fans. She said that in hindsight, she wishes she'd handled the situation differently.
In an appearance on the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast, she said that she remembered being told by publicists to deny that any racist abuse had been directed at her.
"During that time, it was the kind of rise of the internet and fandoms and all that sort of stuff," she said, adding, "Because I’m 16 and a teenager, I care what people think as it is in school, never mind what the whole world thinks. There was a lot of pressure there. I was so caught up in caring about what people thought of me."
Katie said that she would often Google herself and find 'racist sh*t' and 'hate sites'. She continued, "I remember them saying to me, ‘Oh, look, Katie, we haven’t seen these, these websites that people are talking about. And, you know, if you get asked that, just say it’s not true, say it’s not happening.’ And I just nodded my head. I was like, ‘Okay, okay,’ even though I had seen it myself with my own eyes. I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll just say everything’s great.’"
She said that while she was 'grateful' for the Harry Potter franchise, she wishes she'd handled things differently. Last year in June, Katie had seemingly reacted to a series of statements by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, which were perceived by many to be anti-trans people.
“So, you want my thoughts on Cho Chang? Okay, here goes ... ” she tweeted, and added links to resources supporting Black transgender people.
