The casting of Black actress Leah Sava Jeffries in the upcoming Disney+ adaptation of the Percy Jackson book series caused such a racist uproar that author Rick Riordan penned a pointed response calling out his fans' racism.
Now Jeffries herself is speaking out about the flood of abuse she has withstood in recent days, including a targeted trolling campaign so intense it got her entire TikTok account banned.
Jeffries addressed the incident during an Instagram Live session earlier this week, seen below.
yt people deserve nothing....pic.twitter.com/aOFZTmPg6B— first kill pr manager \u2b52 (@first kill pr manager \u2b52) 1652149642
In her Live appearance, Jeffries confirmed it was not her but rather the platform itself that deleted her TikTok account following a targeted harassment campaign in which racist trolls mass-reported her account for fake violations resulting in it being deactivated.
As Jeffries explained:
"I guess all the people who did not want me to be Annabeth or something, they literally took down my whole account."
Jeffries did her best to stay cheerful about the matter, directing her fans to a backup TikTok account in the meantime.
But Jeffries young age—just 12 years old—makes this harassment campaign particularly appalling as many of those harassing her are adult White men who claim because they "grew up" with Riordan's characters, they have a say in casting.
Other sci-fi and fantasy fandoms have experienced similar backlash from the same demographic when main characters or even supporting cast aren't cisgender, heterosexual White males. And while a cisgender White heterosexual female is tolerated, it's only acceptable if she's not the main character.
Via his wife Becky, Riordan addressed the controversy in a Twitter statement, confirming Jeffries family and Disney were working to get her TikTok account back up and running.
To keep you abreast of what has been happening. About TikTok. Leah\u2019s family and Disney is working on a new handle for Leah. We will get this sorted. We have an whole social media team dedicated to the trio and their families. The families can also call on Rick and I anytime.— Becky Riordan (@Becky Riordan) 1652188870
Jeffries has been on the receiving end of a torrent of racist abuse since it was announced she was cast in the female lead role of Annabeth, the daughter of the Greek goddess Athena who is described as blond-haired in the books.
Riordan, who has a high level of creative control over the series, handpicked Jeffries for the role, and excoriated the racist elements of his fanbase in a blog post earlier this week.
TikTok has long had a problem with banning Black creators' accounts because of targeted harassment against them. TikTok addressed this problem following a BuzzFeed News report last January, vowing to make sure its policies are "fair and equitable."
It seems in Jeffries' case, those efforts have been insufficient.
And on Twitter, many were appalled by what Jeffries has been subjected to.
...? She's a little girl :( \nAlso tiktok has been criticised for this before... Black creators being mobbed until they get deplatformed. So sad. I hope the studio is protecting Leah Jeffries, it's a enough. Way too many Blk Girls getting attacked for doing a job!— ValleyWitch \u263d (@ValleyWitch \u263d) 1652156450
These GROWN adults went to a little girls account and spammed/reported her because of her casting in a film that is based in fiction.pic.twitter.com/Bu9dhXD1O6— Josh P. Jackson (he/him/his) (@Josh P. Jackson (he/him/his)) 1652157399
This pissed me off like can the adults do something. Being like oh let\u2019s be kind to racists is harmful rhetoric and I\u2019m so tired of seeing the adults involved with the adaptions as well as fan accs saying crap like that.— stress free era \u2600\ufe0f (@stress free era \u2600\ufe0f) 1652155964
im literally so angry and so concerned for her, esp bc black women are already expected to shoulder everything like im so upset she has to deal with this and is already being expected to shrug it off when shes just a kid. shes a kid. I just hope shes got the emotional support irl— amaya (@amaya) 1652156335
What is wrong with people? They literally have not even seen this girl PLAY the part yet and are passing judgement because she isn\u2019t white?? For one thing, Rick Riordan is heavily involved and they even said they are looking for someone who embodies the character.— Nathan163 (@Nathan163) 1652183431
despite y\u2019all doing that to her she being sweet and nice & living leave her alone she\u2019s 12— lui\u2077 \u0294\u2022\u032b\u0361\u2022\u0294 - 6.10 baby star candy enthusiast (@lui\u2077 \u0294\u2022\u032b\u0361\u2022\u0294 - 6.10 baby star candy enthusiast) 1652153988
I don\u2019t even need to watch this to assume yt fantasy fans didn\u2019t want her cast as a character and attacked her via social media and instead of being protected, her account is closed or suspended yeah?— HOW DO IT FREE US? DuBois was right (@HOW DO IT FREE US? DuBois was right) 1652185771
young black girls should not have to be this resilient. i\u2019m so tired of us having to just accept harassment like this as the norm— \ud83c\udf80 (@\ud83c\udf80) 1652186968
shes TWELVE this is genuinely sick— alina (@alina) 1652152288
I didn\u2019t plan on watching the show, but best believe I\u2019ll be streaming from my tv, my laptop, my phone, my overhead projector. All that.— Sewer Side Doll \u2652\ufe0f (@Sewer Side Doll \u2652\ufe0f) 1652174985
Thankfully, the racists targeting Jeffries seem to be in the minority, despite their outsized impact. Response to Jeffries' casting has been mostly positive, including on TikTok.
The platform's #1 post about the upcoming Percy Jackson series is from a school librarian whose Black students can hardly wait to watch Jeffries knock the role of Annabeth out of the park.
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