Common Arguments I Hear From People Who Believe Percy & Annabeth *MUST* Be Cast As White And My Rebuttal

Common Arguments I Hear From People Who Believe Percy & Annabeth *MUST* Be Cast as White and My Rebuttal

“Well you wouldn’t cast a white person to play Hazel!”

Yeah, because Hazel is explicitly stated to be black, while Percy isn’t and her race plays a big role in her backstory, and who she is as a character- same with almost every other POC in the story. Percy and Annabeth’s race doesn’t play an important role in their arcs or backstories. Also, white people have plenty of representation, BIPOC don’t. Whitewashing one of the few black characters we have is not the same as making a character who’s white or racially ambiguous BIPOC.

“Annabeth is blonde!”

Have you not heard of hair dye? You do realize that many people of color have blonde hair, right? But for real, a lot of you people act like it would be the worst thing in the world if Annabeth wasn’t cast as blonde, which leads me to my next point.

“Annabeth being blonde plays a large role in her struggle, as she wasn’t taken seriously because of it!”

Not even going to comment on that actual part of the story, because there were alot of issues people had with it, but it wasn’t even a large part of her story- it was briefly mentioned in one book in the second. A lot more things contributed to Annabeth’s struggle than her being blonde, like the neglect she experienced as a child, her hubris, and her abandonment issues.

Also, you don’t think WOC don’t experience the same exact thing? The same struggles Annabeth has because she is blonde, WOC feel because they aren’t white! To a much larger degree! It wouldn’t be that hard to change and adapt her story, and it really wouldn’t change much about it.

“But the official art!”

You guys already know my rebuttal for this, but I’ll say it again for anyone who is new- official art isn’t canon. It is basically fanart (fan interpretations) that Rick paid to have on his wall. Fans are still allowed to interpret the story however they want, and they can still cast anyone for the series. Official art doesn’t necessarily make something canon.

“The cast of characters is so diverse, why take away more white characters?”

Yes, Heroes of Olympus is diverse, but that’s still five seasons away, and there is no guarantee that we’ll even get Heroes of Olympus. What’s the harm of making a character in PJO non-white in the meantime, when white people already have so much representation?

Anyways, I don’t care if you don’t headcanon them as POC, but please stop insisting they have to be white.