"The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power" Star Cynthia Addai-Robinson Had Some Choice Words For That Racist Backlash
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Cynthia Addai-Robinson is over the racist backlash surrounding the characters of color in Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — and rightfully so. It's the dawn of a new age.
It's been a minute, but The Rings of Power successfully brought us back into the world of Middle-earth.
It's been eight years (in our world) since the end of Peter Jackson's movie trilogy featuring stories from The Hobbit and almost 20 years since the Lord of the Rings trilogy finished, which takes place 60 years after the events in The Hobbit.
Unlike the first six movies, which take place almost 5,000 years after The Rings of Power, the newest entry was a series made for television. However, the negative conversation surrounding the diverse characters cast a dark shadow over the show's otherwise success.
In response to the backlash, several cast members — including Cynthia, spoke out to condemn the hatred on more than one occassion.
Even the creators of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power spoke out against the backlash.
Cynthia portrays the Queen-Regent of Númenor, presiding over the throne of the kingdom of men in place of her ailing father.
During an interview for another upcoming Amazon Prime Video project, The People We Hate at the Wedding, Cynthia spoke again about the racist backlash against the show's cast. She expressed her hope to change the narrative and focus on the true purpose of the series.
“My focus, especially as more of the show has aired, has been the more joyful aspects of what this story means to people,” Cynthia said. “You know, I think it has a level of importance. People are very protective of this story, protective of these characters, and now they've become protective of us as a cast. We've had this insane experience and the experience and the journey continue. So really to me, it's about the light and not the dark."
“It’s a theme of Tolkien. It's what we've been exploring in the story, and so we just are gonna continue heading toward the light. As I said, the response and the reception have been positive and wonderful. So that makes me happy.”
Clearly, she's not giving the backlash any energy. Instead, she's focusing on staying true to the themes of Tolkien's original story.
The Queen-Regent actor has always kept this positive outlook since the beginning. Cynthia also addressed the backlash with the cast at the 2022 San Diego Comic, saying: “We’re talking about a global show and a global audience. This is now the reality. This is not about taking the narrow view.”
“And to me this is about inviting people in and being expansive. And if you’re going to tell this story in 2022, this to me feels like the only way to tell it, the only way to represent it. And I think people have been really hungry to see full representation in this world. Because at the end of the day this story is all about people of different backgrounds coming together for a common cause.”
