Whoopi Goldberg is lashing out at people criticizing The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and House of the Dragon over their casting choices. Social media users have condemned the series on Prime Video and HBO for becoming “woke” and portraying people of color in the original fantasy worlds created by J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin.
Whoopi Goldberg responded to the critics by accusing them of having a problem with black actors in the movie. In addition, she reminded them that fantasy shows are fiction, adding that there are no dragons, no hobbits. “I want to start by saying these are not real. OK?” Goldberg said. “The new Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power and Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon are both massive hits, but they don’t exist in the real world. OK? There are no dragons, there are no hobbits you know, you know that.”
Goldberg continued, “Are you telling me Black people can’t be fake people, too? I don’t know if there’s a hobbit club, I don’t know if they’re going to protest. But people, what is wrong with y’all?” “Alyssa Farah Griff”, a newcomer to “The View,” recommended that anyone who makes negative comments ought to “get a hobby.” “It’s just racist. Call it what it is,” Joy Behar claimed, according to Daily Wire.
Sunny Hostin claimed that the argument used by trolls is” that it betrays the source material.” Additionally, Steve Toussaint’s performance in House of the Dragon was a particular highlight for her. “What I think is fascinating is like, dragons are OK, fire-breathing dragons, and people with white hair that are born like that when they’re little, and violet eyes, but the black people in it is just a bridge too far for these folks,” panelist Sunny Hostin added.
Because “The Little Mermaid” has a black leading actor, Goldberg predicted viewers would also not like the live-action remake of Disney. As for critics of “Rings of Power,” she suggests that their attention should be focused on something else.
“All of y’all who have problems because there are black hobbits? Get a job!” she stated. “Get a job! Go find yourself, because you are focused on the wrong stuff.” But evidence tends to suggest that most negative reviews of “Rings of Power” turned out to be unrelated to the inclusion of diversity in the cast. In response to the intense backlash, Amazon suspended user reviews for 72 hours, claiming critics were “bombing” it.
“The writing is terrible, it is unfathomably dull and nearly unwatchable altogether. Rocks look down? Ridiculous. Lazy. I had a hard time staying awake and will likely give the rest of it a pass,” a reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes wrote. “It’s just not connective or interesting or even related to the LotR except in some ham handed attempt to be ‘like’ it.”
Most negative comments mentioned awkward dialogue, little depth and weak acting, but do not question the race of the actors. Actually, critics even praise the beautiful scenery and sets.