Rings of Power 'Black hobbits' outrage is wrong - and Tolkien proved it

Some people are up in arms over the new Amazon series,The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerover "Black hobbits," - but the outrage is all wrong.

On Thursday (1 September), the fantasy series hit the streaming platform.

And as people tuned in to watch, they seemed to take issue with the show, presuming that J.R.R. Tolkien's original trilogy didn't show any Black characters.

However, there is a whole breed of hobbits called "Harfoots" that are described as "browner" in complexion than other hobbits and "were the most common type of hobbit."

However, many others took to social media to share their sentiments many of which called out the "racism" that some felt towards the hobbits of colour.

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One person on Twitter wrote: "If you accept dragons, orcs, trolls, elves, hobbits, a fiery demon, a malevolent giant eye, giant eagles, dwarves, a man who turns into a bear, and wizards, but not black characters, then the problem is your racism."

"Where does Tolkien say Black hobbits don't exist? Have you read LOTR? Or The Silmarillion? Or The Hobbit?" another added.

A third wrote: "Show me where Tolkien describes this character - who was 100% invented for the TV series - as 'not being Black'

"In fact, show me where he describes any of the hobbits as 'not being Black'

"Or any elves as 'not being Black'

"Or any character in any of his books."

Someone else simply wrote: "Again, there is no source material that says hobbits and elves can't be Black.

"I wish you folk would realise how silly it is to care so much about the skin colour of fantasy creatures."

In a recent GQ interview, British comedian Sir Lenny Henry, who plays a Harfoot named Sadoc Burrows, spoke out about the racism in the series and condemned literature purists who have come against the increased diversity in fantasy franchises.

"They have no trouble believing in a dragon, but they do have trouble believing that a black person could be a member of the court. Or that a Black person could be a hobbit or an elf," Henry told the outlet.

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