Colleagues Defend ‘Percy Jackson’ Star After Casting Backlash

A number of people in the entertainment industry are coming to Leah Sava Jeffries’ defense after she received criticism for being cast in Disney+’s new Percy Jackson show.

Earlier this month, the streaming service announced that the 12-year-old is being cast in a new show, based on the novel series written by Rick Riordan.

However, some fans questioned Jeffries’ casting because she is Black while her character of Annabeth is described in the books as white.

In fact, the backlash became so immense that Jeffries said in a recent Instagram video that her TikTok account was banned due to the negative comments.

"They literally took down my whole account,” she said in her video.

After the backlash went viral, Riordan as well as Alexandria Daddario, who played Annabeth in the 2010 Percy Jackson movie, vocalized their support for Jeffries.

"Leah Jeffries is going to be an incredible Annabeth!!!" Daddario wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Riordan condemned fans for “bullying and harassing” Jeffries online.

"If you have a problem with this casting, however, take it up with me. You have no one else to blame," he wrote, adding, "We should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong."

"As strong as Leah is, as much as we have discussed the potential for this kind of reaction and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative comments she has received online are out of line. They need to stop. Now."

Additionally, Riordian's wife Rebecca Riordan — who serves as an executive producer for the new Disney+ program — wrote on her Twitter page, "Leave Leah alone."

During her recent Instagram Live, Jeffries thanked supporters for their love amid the racist controversy.

"To whoever is hating, stop doing that! Like, I know you think that's going to hurt me though. It's not. You're just wasting time," she said.

"I'm still confident in myself," Jeffries continued. "Everybody else is confident. Everybody else is happy for me. So don't try to bring me down. It's not going to work."

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