A couple days back, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hit the web, and many fans were ecstatic. Like many trailers before it, it was full of all sorts of Easter eggs that fans were able to pick apart, but perhaps one of the most obvious ones was the presence of Nagini.

Harry Potter fans will know that Nagini is the name of Voldemort’s pet snake, and in this film, we see her portrayed in human form by Claudia Kim. However, this casting did not go unnoticed by fans. On one hand you, had some people upset that an Asian woman was being presented as someone who would eventually be the “pet” of a white man, and on the other hand, you had people who were upset that she wasn’t a white person and that casting her as an Asian woman doesn’t fit the character.

One fan expressed her discontent on the matter over Twitter, though what she probably didn’t expect was that J.K. Rowling herself would respond.

The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name ‘Nagini.’ They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Have a lovely day 🐍

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 26, 2018

The argument continued from other users who complained that one of the few people of color ends up being a pet snake, and others who are just upset at what they feel is a retconning of a random snake.

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That wasn’t all Rowling had to say. According to her, Nagini is something called a maledictus — someone who is destined to eventually turn into an animal against their will as they get older. It’s a blood curse passed from mother to daughter.

Of course, this didn’t quiet the rabid fans, who still think this is a lazy attempt at shoehorning in representation.

But what do you think of all this? Personally, I don’t think this is a problem and think it’s good to give a more representation, especially when it’s clear the fate of the character is linked to the culture being represented. That being said, the real problem stretches much deeper into the business, and because of the absence of other Asian actors in the film franchise, all of a sudden, there is a huge burden on one character to represent only the best aspects of humanity. It’s an unfair burden and one that really shouldn’t fall on actress Claudia Kim. Given that we don’t know her true role in the film, I think it’s a bit premature to scream outrage at this point.

What do you think of this whole fiasco? Let us know down below!

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SOURCE: Various (via Twitter)