“Our power as a people and a community should never be underestimated. Avengers assemble,” actress Selina Jones wrote, while a fan asked Holland to “please say something to show solidarity for your leading lady,” calling the hateful comments “deeply disturbing.”
Fans and stars alike are urging Tom Holland to speak out after his Romeo & Juliet costar, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, has been receiving “racial abuse” following the cast announcement last month.
In late March, it was announced that Amewudah-Rivers would be starring as Juliet alongside Holland’s Romeo in the upcoming West End production, which is set to open in May. Shortly after the news broke, the actress became a target of a “barrage of deplorable racial abuse” over her casting, and people online — including fellow actors — are calling for Holland to publicly defend his costar.
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Actress Selina Jones — who starred in HBO’s Raised By Wolves — seemingly led the charge on social media, sharing a post to her Instagram Stories on Sunday.
“You lot need to put pressure pon @tomholland2023’s head top,” she wrote. “I need my guy to say something, ANYTHING, about the disgusting racial abuse being thrown at our angel Fran.”
“Comment, tweet, share, pressure him – if you could sent that text to your sneaky link that you really shouldn’t be talking to, you can do this,” she continued, before concluding, “Our power as a people and a community should never be underestimated. Avengers assemble.”
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story star, Arséma Thomas, was among those who reposted Jones’ statement. Thomas reshared Jones’ post, and added, “So bloody true.”
Holland’s Instagram has been flooded with comments from fans and social media users demanding he make a statement, with many taking to the comments section of his Instagram post, in which he announced his casting in Romeo & Juliet.
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“Now Thomas I need you to talk about the racism you’re co-star Francesca facing right now due to her casting on R&J please,” a person wrote.
“Would really love to see you make a statement in defense of and solidarity with your co-star for this show — the blatant racism she’s experiencing should not and CANNOT be tolerated,” a second fan said.
“Please make an explicit statement in solidarity with and in support of your co-star facing horrific intense and traumatizing racial abuse,” a third user urged, while another commented, “Tom please say something to show solidarity for your leading lady. What is happening is towards her is deeply disturbing.”
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Many of the comments appear to come after The Jamie Lloyd Company, the production company behind Romeo & Juliet’s West End production, issued a statement condemning the “racial abuse” a cast member has received online.
“Following the announcement of our Romeo & Juliet cast, there has been a barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed towards a member of our company,” the post began. “This must stop.”
“We are working with a remarkable group of artists,” the company continued. “We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment. We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported.”
“Bullying and harassment have no place online, in our industry or in our wider communities,” the message added.
The company concluded its statement by noting that their “rehearsal room is full of joy, compassion and kindness.”
“We celebrate the extraordinary talent of our incredible collaborators,” it added. “The Romeo & Juliet community will continue to rehearse with generosity and love, and focus on the creation of our production.”
The West End production kicks off on May 11, and will run for 12 weeks at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London. According to the official website, tickets are already sold out.
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