Words by Shayni Solanki
Disney struck gold when they cast Leah Jeffries in their Percy Jackson TV series but, of course, there was some mind-numbing backlash.
After a long wait and a couple of bad movies (sorry Logan Lerman), Disney’s adaptation of the beloved book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians is finally out.
With author Rick Riordan working directly with Disney throughout production, the show has garnered a lot of great reviews so far. Not only is it loyal to the story, it’s also filmed beautifully with a roster of actors giving top tier performances. One of the standout actors is Leah Jeffries, the 14-year-old playing Annabeth Chase, who brings every ounce of the written Annabeth to life.
Having Rick Riordan onboard meant he was directly involved in casting choices. So when the news broke that one of the main three characters would be played by a Black girl, it seemed a bit odd that some ‘fans’ were so outraged.
These ‘fans’ sponsor the idea that the book character’s blonde hair is a part of her identity, because in the books it was a part of her struggle towards proving her worth and wit as a child of Athena. What they fail to realise is Annabeth being presented as Black only serves to amplify this struggle and make it more powerful of a story.
In an open blog, Rick Riordan told the racists to pull up if they had an issue, “If you have a problem with this casting, however, take it up with me. You have no one else to blame”. He explained how appearance was ultimately second to finding the actors that could actually bring his characters to life.
Seeing Leah Jeffries play Annabeth on screen is everything a true lover of the books should adore. Jeffries brings the character to life with all the sass and wit she was written with, and it’s clear that she’s only going to get better.
Jeffries revealed that Rick Riordan said, “’No matter what people will say about you, remember, I picked you”, and that’s what it took to keep her head in the game. Safe to say if the author is happy about the series then fans should be too. Episodes release on Wednesdays and with two left to drop, we seriously urge everyone to watch Leah Jeffries kill it on screen.