'The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power' Star Ismael Cruz Cordova Is Not Backing Down From Racist Trolls
Even before it began streaming, Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" was already getting review bombed, mostly getting criticism for having a diverse cast. However, its Puerto Rican star Ismael Cruz Cordova is not backing down and letting them win.
Many so-called fans have argued that people of color should not appear in a fantasy series like "The Lord of the Rings." This is evident in the criticisms directed mainly towards the casting.
'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Star Ismael Cruz Cordova Delivers Scathing Message to Critics
The controversy started when Black actors, including Ismael Cruz Cordova, were announced to star in the much-anticipated Amazon series.
The Puerto Rican plays Elven warrior Arondir in the show, and he recently spoke to Esquire Magazine about the racist abuse he has received.
Cordova is the first person of color to ever play an elf in "The Lord of the Rings" franchise, and predictably, he has received much flak for it.
He told Esquire that he has received "pure and vicious hate speech" in his DMs almost every day for the past two years. Cordova noted that he fought really hard to land the role and felt he "could carry that torch."
For this, the Afro-Latino actor said he made sure his elf was the "most Elven, the most incredible," as he admitted that he knew the racist comments and criticisms were coming.
The actor also took to Twitter to address the racist criticisms directed toward his casting. He said: "It's not about the billboard - it's about becoming unmissable, undeniable, irrevocably present and rooted, as a people, as beings, as individuals."
"A huge 'we are here.' And we have been here," he added.
Cordova noted that the huge billboard featuring him as Arondir was only blocks away from the hostel he stayed at when he was still struggling with housing and money.
On Instagram, he posed in front of another huge ad, and this time, he proudly showed off his Puerto Rican heritage.
According to NPR, a review-bombing campaign of the series forced Amazon to quietly implement a 72-hour delay for "Rings of Power" reviews on its Prime Video platform.
It also forced Amazon to evaluate each review to determine whether it was genuine or not. The review-bombing gave the show an audience score of only 39%, compared to its Rotten Tomatoes critical success, which is 84%.
Original 'The Lord of the Rings' Cast, Including Elijah Wood, Show Solidarity With New 'Rings of Power' Cast
While the new cast of "The Lord of the Rings" series is getting peppered with criticisms, the original hobbits from the Oscar-winning movie trilogy rushed in to show solidarity with them.
Elijah Wood (Frodo), Sean Astin (Sam), and Dominic Monaghan (Merry) all banded together and showed off apparel that read in elvish that "You all are welcome here."
Their apparel also features ears of all sorts of skin tones. This is a clear reference to the racist comments that the show got because of the diverse cast.
According to CNN, Ismael Cruz Cordova thanked the Hobbit trio on social media for their show of support.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
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