Former hobbits Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and more 'Lord of the Rings' stars come out to defend the diverse cast in 'The Rings of Power' after backlash
@elijahwood on Twitter
- Former "Lord of the Rings" stars wore merch supporting the diverse cast in "The Rings of Power."
- The merch features ears in varying skin tones accompanied by the message "you are all welcome here" written in Elvish.
- "The Rings of Power" has been facing backlash for its diverse cast of characters.
Former "Lord of the Rings" stars are defending the diverse cast of the new show "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" after backlash surrounding some of the cast members has taken over the internet.
Elijah Wood, who starred as famed hobbit Frodo Baggins in the "LOTR" movies posted a picture to Twitter Wednesday alongside Dominic Monaghan — who played Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck — and Billy Boyd — who played Peregrin "Pippin" Took — wearing shirts featuring ears in varying skin tones.
"You Are All Welcome Here," the caption of the tweet read.
—Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) September 7, 2022
Sean Astin — who played Samwise Gamgee in the trilogy — chimed in later Wednesday, posting his own photo to Twitter sporting a hat with the same logo.
"You are all welcome here," Astin echoed, tagging his three former costars in the tweet.
—Sean Astin (@SeanAstin) September 7, 2022
The shirts, which read "you are all welcome here" in Sindarian Elvish, were created by Don Marshall — a popular TikTok creator who is known as "Obscure Lord of the Rings Fact Guy."
"The Rings of Power" has been facing racist backlash since casting announcements were made in February, with fans angered over the diverse cast.
Mariana Rios Maldonado, a J.R.R. Tolkien scholar, told Vanity Fair at the time that she believes pushback from Tolkien fans was inevitable after the show's diverse cast was announced.
"Obviously there was going to be push and backlash, but the question is from whom? Who are these people that feel so threatened or disgusted by the idea that an elf is Black or Latino or Asian?" she said.