The first two episodes of the highly-anticipated show The Rings of Power aired at the start of this month and despite being well-received by critics and record viewing figures, a vocal minority of "fans" have done their best to harass, abuse, review bomb, and criticize the show for including POC characters. It now looks like the show's cast has had enough, as they've published a defiant statement against the racist backlash, saying that they refuse to "ignore it or tolerate it."In a series of images posted to the "The Lord of the Rings on Prime" Twitter account, the Rings of Power cast have revealed that several castmates of color have been subject to "relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse" on a daily basis since the show aired last week. In a show of solidarity, the cast has come together alongside Lord of the Rings actors Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan to speak out against the backlash and reiterate that "BIPOC belong in Middle-earth and they are here to stay.""We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily basis," reads the statement. "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it."
The phrase "You Are All Welcome Here" is being used by the Rings of Power cast as well as Elijah Wood and the others to show solidarity. The movement is even being used to sell some merchandise such as hoodies and caps displaying the phrase written in Elvish, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to a charity that supports people of color. You can check out the store page here if you feel like showing your support and angering a bigot or two in the process.