'Harry Potter' star Katie Leung says she was told to deny racist abuse
Harry Potter star Katie Leung has revealed she was targeted by racist trolls after being cast in the hit series – and claims she was told to deny it.
The actor was just 16 when she was cast as Cho Chang in the movies about JK Rowling’s boy wizard.
Speaking on the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast, she said that after she landed the role she read a lot of “racist s***” about herself, and even discovered a website devoted to how people disagreed with her being cast.
Watch: Harry Potter’s Katie Leung addressed the J.K. Rowling controversy in the best way
Read more: Emma Watson is not retiring from acting despite rumours
"I was googling myself at one point, and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the kind of Harry Potter fandom," she said.
"I remember reading all the comments. And yes, it was a lot of racist s***."
Leung said she spoke to publicists about what she was seeing online.
She said: “I remember them saying to me, 'Oh, look, Katie, we haven't seen these, these websites that people are talking about. And you know, if you get asked that, just say it's not true, say it's not happening’.”
The actor said she agreed to say that everything was fine if she was questioned about it.
However, Leung has since had moments where she wishes she had addressed it in some way.
"I keep saying, 'Oh I wish I'd maybe said something'... but you can't do that, you know?" she explained.
Read more: Rupert Grint reveals how being a dad has changed his perspective
Leung, who is now 33, has also appeared in films such as The Foreigner and T2 Trainspotting and her television credits include Father Brown and The Nest.
Watch: 'Harry Potter' Was 'SUFFOCATING For Rupert Grint!