Actress Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter franchise, spoke about the experience of racist attacks by fans online while filming the fantasy series. She said that advertisers told her to deny what was going on if she was questioned.
Leung recalled what happened in an episode of the “Chinese Chippy Girl” podcast released on Monday. She says that after her 2005 “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” cast was announced, she started seeing racist messages from fans online.
“I was searching on Google at one point, and I was on this site, which was kind of dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom. I remember reading all the comments. And yes, it was a lot of racist shit, ”she says.
Leung, who was born in Scotland and is of Chinese descent, was just 16 when she was cast in the Harry Potter films. She remembers not having received any media training before giving interviews and said that advertisers told her to deny that racist attacks were taking place.
“I remember them saying to me, ‘Look, Katie, we haven’t seen these, these sites that people are talking about. And you know, if someone asks you that, just say it’s not true. Say it’s not happening, ‘”she said. “And I just shook my head. I was like, ‘Okay, okay’, even though I saw it with my own eyes. I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’m just going to say that everything is great.’ “
Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio behind the Harry Potter films, declined to comment. It is unclear whether the advertisers worked for the studio or the actress.
“I was very grateful to be in the position I was in,” said Leung. “I keep saying, ‘Oh, I wish I had said something. But you cannot do that. “
After “Goblet of Fire”, Leung appeared in the following four Harry Potter films – “Order of the Phoenix”, “Half-Blood Prince” and the two “Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2.” She has also appeared in films like “Locked Down” and “The Foreigner” and TV shows like “The Nest”, “White Dragon” and “Chimerica”.