The original cast members of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film series have banded together to call for inclusiveness in the wake of a racist reaction to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan banded together on social media to advocate for diversity in the Amazon Prime Video series’ casting.
“You are all welcome here,” says Wood’s Twitter caption.
Some viewers have voiced dissatisfaction with the series’ casting of persons of race, claiming that it violates the source material provided by author J. R. R. Tolkien.
The performers are seen wearing t-shirts with the ears of the Middle-earth animals in various skin tones.
Wood and the other performers provided a link to the virtual store where you could purchase the shirt they were wearing.
According to the item’s description, “50% of all earnings will be donated to a charity (to be chosen by Don’s community) that supports POC.”
Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays Elven warrior Arondir in The Rings of Power, reacted to Wood’s tweet with “Much love.”
Cruz Córdova recently said that he has had to deal with racial trolls on social media who have only displayed “pure and violent hate speech” against him.
