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People are debating the casting of an Asian actor as Nagini in Fantastic Beasts

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John Phillips/Getty Images

Voldemort’s giant snake and Horcrux, Nagini, has been given a back story in the latest Fantastic Beasts film and the casting of a South Korean actress in the role has sparked heated conversations online.

In the books, Nagini was simply a snake with magical powers, but now, the final trailer of Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that she was once a woman.

Claudia Kim was cast in the role, and it raised some eyebrows.

One fan wrote:

‘JKR’s Fantastic Beasts universe was truly the most disgusting thing to ever happen to Harry Potter and Harry James Potter.

Im [sic] still so disgusted by the way she wrote Credence and his condition and turns out her writing can get worse!

Nagini is basically Voldemort’s SERVANT and PET forced to do his bidding for life because it’s a giant evil snake right…now it is revealed that Claudia Kim is playing Nagini and she’s blood cursed to turn into a beast and it only affects women and of course she picks an Asian woman like that’s not stereotypically disgusting enough.

Some people argued that having one of the only non-white characters in Harry Potter submissive to Voldemort, is offensive.

Others didn't see a problem with the casting

J K Rowling used Twitter to defend her decision, writing that Nagini was based on the Indonesian mythological creature, 'Naga'

But that, too, was challenged.

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