Why is Tom Holland coming under fire for ‘Romeo & Juliet’ racism controversy?

Tom Holland becoming Romeo in a high-profile West End production of the prestigious Shakespearean play was a big deal, but, somehow the casting of his co-star has managed to become the focal point of discussion around the project.

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, a young Oxford University-taught British Ghanaian-Nigerian actress and composer, has slowly but surely climbed the ranks of the British theater scene in productions of Macbeth, Othello, and School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, and was cast to play Juliet opposite Holland, per an announcement on Mar. 28. A decision that would have been entirely uncontentious within the theater’s colorblind casting tradition, but which, partly thanks to Holland’s status as a massive Hollywood star, became yet another hot topic for people who apparently have nothing better to do with their time than tantrum over the casting of Black actors.

Amewudah-Rivers became the target of yet another internet racist hate wave from people who seemed convinced Juliet was a real white woman who existed in the 16th century, and not a fictional character who has been portrayed by people of all genders (yes, men used to play the part when women were not allowed to be actors) and races for literal centuries. Curiously, and infuriatingly, at the same time as this was happening, an unsubstantiated rumor about Mean Girls‘ Avantika Vandanapu maybe portraying Rapunzel in a future Disney live-action adaptation, was also fueling all kinds of over-reactions from those with an acute inability to differentiate life from fiction.

But why was Tom Holland criticized?

People were upset that, after the mindless hate and bigotry to which Amewudah-Rivers was subjected (and to which we will not give a further platform here), Holland remained silent. Queen Charlotte star Arsema Thomas was one of the more famous people to voice their frustration by sharing an Instagram story that called for everyone to “put pressure” on Holland’s head.

The discussion then seemed to shift focus from condemning the racism to criticizing Holland and consequentially criticizing those who were straying from the most important aspect at hand — defending Amewudah-Rivers and Black people’s space in the theater. Some argued that Holland putting out a statement wouldn’t fix the issue, or maybe even make matters worse. Others pointed out that the actor is not usually very present online. It’s hard to argue, however, against the fact that as one of the most followed actors on Instagram, Holland could bring a lot of attention to the issue. Whether that would translate into a good or bad kind of attention is a different conversation altogether.

The play’s director, Jamie Lloyd, released a statement through his production company about the situation, saying “Bullying and harassment have no place online, in our industry or in our wider communities.” Over 800 Black Actors also signed an open letter, organized by Enola Holmes actor Susan Wokoma and the writer Somalia Nonyé Seaton, condemning the “racist and misogynistic abuse” against Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, which was published in The Guardian.

As disheartening and maddening as some of these comments are to read, it doesn’t look like any of this ridiculous hate will win in the end, because the massive success of this Romeo & Juliet production has reportedly already set up its Broadway future before it has even premiered on the West End, according to The Mirror.

Tickets to the show at the Duke of York’s Theater sold out in under two hours. The production opens on May 11 and will run for 12 weeks before it allegedly moves over the pond to New York.