Harry Potter Star Reflects On Racist Bullying 15 Years After Playing Controversial Character

Harry Potter franchise star Katie Leung recalls being subjected to racist bullying online after joining the franchise as the controversial Cho Chang. Cho was introduced in 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, returning for four subsequent films as Harry’s ally and short-lived love interest.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Leung reflects on her experience joining the franchise, recalling that it was particularly jarring for her 16-year-old self. When asked how she dealt with the sudden fame, she says, “I don’t think I did.” She goes on to explain that being thrust into the spotlight came with positive and negatives.

“It was overwhelming from the get-go,” Leung says. “Being in the spotlight from that age, when you’re already insecure, was difficult, to say the least.”

Though she wasn’t able to process it all at the time, she’s better able to understand things now. “At the time, I was having a lot of fun. I thought: this is different from school, and I really did not enjoy school. So it was a way to escape. I’m still trying to figure it out, really, how it affected me.”

Leung stresses that the actors on the Harry Potter set were taken care of, but there were limits to what could be done. As she explains:

“I don’t know if anything could have been done back then to make things better or easier. At that age, you’re curious. I remember being very curious about what people were saying about me, and I was Googling myself. Nobody could have stopped me, because I was old enough to make up my own mind.”

Googling herself after her casting as Cho exposed Leung to a torrent of hurtful and racist comments online. When asked how she coped with this, she says, “I didn’t.” The actor goes on to say that seeing these comments changed how she presented herself to the world:

“I think it just sat with me, and it affected me in ways like, ‘Oh yeah, I made that decision because people were saying this about me.’ It probably made me less outgoing. I was very self-aware of what was coming out of my mouth.

Adding on to this, Leung explains, is that she felt like she hadn’t earned her fame because of how suddenly her career changed after joining the Harry Potter cast. “It happened by pure chance,” she says. “And for the longest time, I may have tried to make up for it, and overcompensate.”

Now, of course, the character of Cho has also become somewhat controversial. This controversy has nothing to do with Leung, however, and is instead aimed at Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Rowling is accused of not only giving her a stereotypical Asian name that is uncomfortably close to a well-known anti-Asian racial slur, but of giving her very little depth as a character.

Leung was last seen in a Wizarding World movie in 2011, with Cho having a relatively small role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the final entry in the saga. Since then, she’s appeared in movies like T2 Trainspotting (2017) The Foreigner (2017), as well as TV shows like The Nest, The Peripheral, The Wheel of Time, and Arcane.

Leung’s next big project is Bridgerton season 4. She will star in the hit Netflix series as Araminta Gun, a figure from the Julia Quinn novels upon which the show is based. As Leung prepares to enter another major franchise, her time in Harry Potter as Cho Chang remains a notable chapter in a career that continues to evolve.

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Richard Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alfred Enoch, Harry Melling, Gary Oldman, Robert Pattinson, Warwick Davis, Oliver Phelps, James Phelps, David Bradley, David Thewlis, Katie Leung, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jamie Campbell Bower, Timothy Spall, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp, Mads Mikkelsen

Movie(s)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore