{"id":2417,"date":"2026-04-02T11:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/?p=599701"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"quit-or-ill-murder-you-paapa-essiedu-responds-to-snape-backlash-in-hbos-harry-potter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/04\/02\/quit-or-ill-murder-you-paapa-essiedu-responds-to-snape-backlash-in-hbos-harry-potter\/","title":{"rendered":"Paapa Essiedu responds to casting backlash over his role as Snape in HBO’s Harry Potter"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first trailer for HBO\u2019s upcoming Harry Potter reboot<\/a> has been overshadowed by a wave of racist abuse aimed at Paapa Essiedu, who has been cast as Severus Snape.<\/p>\n

Essiedu, who is the first black actor to take on the iconic role, has revealed he\u2019s been sent race-fuelled death threats since his casting was announced in December 2024. The situation escalated further after the teaser dropped, with HBO reportedly stepping up on-set security to protect those involved in the production.<\/p>\n

\"\"
HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking about the abuse, Essiedu shared the reality of what he\u2019s been facing online with The Times<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019ve been told, \u2018Quit or I\u2019ll murder you\u2019\u2026 The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, \u2018I\u2019m going to come to your house and kill you\u2019\u2026 while I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019m not going to be murdered\u2026 That could age badly!\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged the emotional toll it has taken, adding: \u201cNobody should have to encounter this for doing their job\u2026 I\u2019m playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I\u2019d be lying if I said it doesn\u2019t affect me emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, Essiedu said the experience has only strengthened his resolve to make the role his own. Reflecting on representation, he explained: \u201cAnd makes me more passionate about making this character my own\u2026 the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That\u2019s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they\u2019d rather I die.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also described the level of online abuse as \u201cendemic\u201d, noting that choosing not to engage with it doesn\u2019t make it disappear. Essiedu confirmed he hasn\u2019t reported the threats: \u201cI don\u2019t think some 17-year-old boy being put in jail for two weeks for threatening to murder me would actually make me feel any better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Away from the reboot controversy, Essiedu has also faced backlash for publicly supporting the transgender community, particularly in contrast to the views of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.<\/p>\n

Last year, he signed an open letter criticising a UK Supreme Court ruling which stated that references to \u201csex\u201d and \u201cwoman\u201d in the Equality Act relate specifically to biological sex. The letter, which was also signed by Emma Watson, said: \u201cWe believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary and intersex people living in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rowling later addressed the situation on X, writing: \u201cI don\u2019t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn\u2019t exercise it if I did. I don\u2019t believe in taking away people\u2019s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Times <\/a>about his decision to sign the letter, Essiedu stood firm: \u201cMy points of view are mine and will continue to be so.<\/p>\n

\u201cI signed that letter because I believe that artists in the trans community have a right to be treated with dignity and should be able to work without being intimidated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been really supported by the production team, and I\u2019d sign that letter again today.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more like this, <\/i>like The Tab on Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Featured image credit: HBO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘They\u2019d rather I die’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[4,98,11],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-film","tag-harry-potter","tag-tv"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPaapa Essiedu responds to Snape backlash in HBO's Harry Potter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The trailer for HBO\u2019s Harry Potter reboot has been overshadowed by a wave of racist abuse aimed at Paapa Essiedu, who has been cast as Snape.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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