Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, recently addressed the controversy tied to the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, which has intensified in recent weeks due to the disturbing death threats directed at Paapa Essiedu, who is set to take on the role of the fan-favorite character, Professor Snape.
Some misguidedly-intense Harry Potter fans have reacted negatively to the casting, taking issue with a character they have long imagined as white now being played by a Black actor.
In a recent interview, Essiedu shared just how serious the backlash has become. He revealed, “I’ve been told, ‘Quit or I’ll murder you. It really matters.’ The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’”
Bloys has now weighed in on the matter, stating to The Hollywood Reporter, "The good news-bad news with big IP worlds is you have a lot of passionate fans, huge passionate fan bases. That also comes with people having very specific opinions, people who feel like they’re fierce protectors. So anytime we do a show like that, not just Harry Potter, but any kind of big IP show, we will always talk to anybody participating about social media and best practices and things like that. It is just a reality."
Looking at Bloys' above response, he's certainly doing what a high-level executive should do- protect the asset. However, the "safe and professional" response above is also somewhat ethically hollow.
Referring to people who send death threats as "fierce protectors" is a pretty large stretch of the imagination and treats the controversy as a marketing hurdle rather than a serious issue.
However, Bloys had a much stronger social response to this same issue in a similar interview with Variety, adding that extra security is being added to the production.
"...you know, passionate fans, people with a lot of opinions- it can get scary in places. So for any show like that, we anticipated that and tried to have training, you know- best practices in terms of social media and how to handle it. And obviously we have a serious security team. Unfortunately, it was something we thought might happen and we just try to be as careful as we can."
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has also given support to Essiedu, previously stating, "I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series, and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine."