The upcoming Disney Plus series Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been receiving backlash. Mainly because Disney Plus made the decision to cast black actress Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase in the new Percy Jackson adaptation.
In the original book series, Annabeth was white. Now producer Rebecca Riordan has stood up to defend the decision in making Annabeth black for the new adaptation. In a now-deleted tweet, she stated those who use the books as a defense to say she should be white are only using them to spread hate.
Here’s what she shared as her defense against the racist backlash:
“Rick [Riordan] and I were feeling very sad today because there are people continuing to use his books to justify spreading hate. It helps though to think about all you true blue fans that are respectful and supportive of each other and our cast. We couldn’t be making this show without you.”
In a response to the tweet, one fan asked why they had to change her skin color at all. Riordan responded by saying that standards in 2002 were different and that white characters were something of a default.
“Does it help to know that when those characters where created in 2002 the expectation in publishing was a white default? Annabeth’s perceived whiteness in the books is a default. Skin color or hair color is not meaningful to their character.”
Does it help to know that when those characters where created in 2002 the expectation in publishing was a white default? Annabeth’s perceived whiteness in the books is a default. Skin color or hair color is not meaningful to their character.
— Becky Riordan (@camphalfblood) July 20, 2023
It’s worth noting that these are far from the first times that Rebecca Riordan or her husband, Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan, have defended casting a black actress as Annabeth Chase. Both have made it quite clear that the decision was theirs and that they’re the only ones to blame. As such, fans should trust in their decision, and hopefully this new Percy Jackson series can succeed where previous adaptations have failed.
Fans can expect to see the new series Percy Jackson and the Olympians via Disney Plus in 2024. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.