The final trailer for 'The Crimes of Grindelwald' reveals that Korean actress Claudia Kim is portraying Nagini, who later becomes Lord Voldemort's trusty snake.
- Sep 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - The latest trailer for "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" has sparked racism backlash over the reveal of Nagini. The recently-released video confirms that Korean actress Claudia Kim is portraying the half-human, half-snake, who later becomes a subservient to Lord Voldemort.
Some people took issue with the casting of an Asian female actor for the role as it perpetuates an image of women of color being oppressed by white men. One of those who spoke out their minds about the controversial casting was Ellen DeGeneres. The TV host and comedian tweeted on Tuesday. September 25, "It's okay to love problematic things. I'll be the first to say that the Harry Potter series made me want to write children's books. But let's also talk about the problems. This feels like a problem."
She added, "I feel like this is the problem when white people want to diversify and don't actually ask POC how to do so. They don't make the connection between making Nagini an Asian woman who later on is the pet of a white man. So I'm going to say it right now. That s**t is racist."
I feel like this is the problem when white people want to diversify and don't actually ask POC how to do so. They don't make the connection between making Nagini an Asian woman who later on is the pet of a white man. So I'm going to say it right now. That shit is racist.
— Ellen "Call Me General" Oh (@ElloEllenOh) September 25, 2018
Another similarly reacted, "Reasons to get a #sensitivityreader: So someone can tell you revealing that the *PET* of the the wizard nazi is actually a cursed Asian woman is racist BEFORE it gets put into a movie. #harrypotter #nagini."
Another "Harry Potter" fan slammed the author, J.K. Rowling, "Apparently JK Rowling decided that Nagini (voldemort's pet snake) is a Korean woman and I am so sad that so much of my childhood was wasted on such an unsurprisingly racist white woman."
But the British author has done enough research to defend her case. Responding to the backlash, she replied to someone's tweet, "The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name 'Nagini.' They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Have a lovely day."
The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name ‘Nagini.’ They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Have a lovely day 🐍
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 26, 2018
Some people have also come to Rowling's defense, with one writing, "as an asian woman I'm not particularly offended about claudia being nagini, I actually think it's kinda cool to know her whole backstory,, people are just so easily offended these days, you can't enjoy anything without it having some sort of racist deeper meaning."
"jk rowling is not a racist by making asian woman as nagini's true form," another tried to explain, "i believe it's just an act of bringing up some race diversity to the movie. besides, nagini is not a 'white man's pet', she's so precious to voldemort he turned her into his closest horcrux."
Claudia Kim previously starred in Hollywood movies through her roles as Helen Cho in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and Arra Champignon in "The Dark Tower". She joins the likes of Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Zoe Kravitz and Ezra Miller in the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" sequel.
Directed by David Yates, "The Crimes of Grindelwald" is slated for release on November 16 in the United States.
