'Harry Potter' Actor Katie Leung Opens Up About Racist Online Attacks
Her publicists told her to deny what she was experiencing to the press.
Known for her role as Cho Chang in the Harry Potter franchise, Katie Leung recently revealed that she received racist attacks from Potter fans while she was filming for The Goblet of Fire in 2005. According to Deadline, the actor was told by publicists to deny what she was experiencing to the press — another case of “Were you silent? Or were you silenced?”
“I was, like, Googling myself at one point, and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the kind of Harry Potter fandom,” Leung said in episode 14 of the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast. “I remember reading all the comments. And, yeah, it was a lot of racist sh*t,” she continued.
When she brought up her concerns to her publicists, her issues were disregarded. “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,’” she shared.
Deadline reported that the talent didn’t specify whether these publicists worked directly for her or for the franchise, which was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. “I was really very f*cking grateful that I was in the position I was in. But then, yeah… it wasn’t great,” Leung added in the podcast.
You can listen to the full conversation down below to learn more about Leung’s experience.
