Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings show hires a therapist for the cast following racist backlash.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a prequel set during the Second Age, around a thousand years prior to the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies/novels.
The Rings of Power is also one of the most expensive TV series of all time with its debut season on Amazon Prime Video costing a reported $450 million. Yet, despite its ultra-expense, the show garnered staggeringly low viewers. However, despite its low numbers, that hasn't stopped Amazon from commissioning a second season.
It’s also fair to say that The Rings of Power has had a rather mixed reaction from critics and fans alike. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the series received a score of 61% from critics and just 38% from users. As for IMDB, the series scores a somewhat respectable 6.9 (nice), but it's perhaps worth keeping in mind that IMDB is owned by Amazon.
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That being said, no matter what you think of The Rings of Power, it never excuses racist abuse. In September 2022, Arondir actor Ismael Cruz Córdova received what he described as “vicious hate speech”. Thankfully he received support from the original Lord of the Rings cast.
Unfortunately, as reported by Comicbook.com (via Variety) to help cope with the tirade of racist abuse, Amazon has been forced to hire a therapist to help the cast cope with the hate from supposed fans. Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy that the cast is getting support, but it should never come to the point of abuse being bad, that therapists are required. Welcome to the internet.
“You need support when this happens because the voices are so loud and they're coming at you from so many places,” Ismael Cruz Córdova told Variety. “I loved seeing her there, even if we didn't speak,” he added. “I knew there was someone there seeing me completely. It wasn't just as an actor.”
Córdova continued: “It hurt. It had a psychological and mental health impact. That's something that I'm very, very open about so that people understand that what they do and say online really hurts people, really has an impact on us.
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“I had bank account attempts of being hacked. My PayPal got hacked. My friends got messages. I got death threats. I got things mailed to me. People found out my address. It was a lot of that.”
No release date has been announced for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but it is expected to arrive on Amazon Prime Video sometime in 2024.
In related news, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was released this week and it’s already one of the worst-reviewed games this year. Yikes!
Featured Image Credit: Amazon/New Line CinemaTopics: The Lord Of The Rings, The Rings of Power, Amazon