JK Rowling furious at ‘racists’ who didn't like idea of black Hermione in Harry Potter play

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Olivier-award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni was picked for the part
Social media trolls have attacked casting of black actor for Hermione role
New two-part play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, starts at end of July
Rowling has given her full backing to Noma as she prepares for the shows

Published: 06:12 EST, 5 June 2016 | Updated: 10:07 EST, 5 June 2016

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Olivier-award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni was picked for the role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which starts in the end of July in London

JK Rowling has hit out at a 'bunch of racists' who criticised the casting of a black actress to play Hermione in a hotly-anticipated new play.

Olivier-award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni was picked for the role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which starts at the end of July in London.

Around 175,000 tickets have been sold in 24 hours for the shows.

But trolls on social media attacked the casting after the role of school-swat Hermione was played by Emma Watson, who is white, in the Harry Potter films which grossed $7.7billion worldwide.

Rowling told The Observer: 'With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot.

'But what can you say? That's the way the world is. Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job.'

'I had a bunch of racists telling me that because Hermione 'turned white' – that is, lost colour from her face after a shock – that she must be a white woman, which I have a great deal of difficulty with.'

Rowling added that she gave the underfire casting choice her full backing and there was no reason why the part could not be played by a black actor.

Hermione is often portrayed as black in fan art and the books do not explicitly reference her race or skin colour.

The show's director John Tiffany said he had encountered social media's dark side when he read the 'awful' comments.

Rowling (pictured left) added that she gave the underfire casting choice her full backing and there was no reason why the part could not be played by a black actor. Emma Watson (pictured right) played Hermione in the Harry Potter films

The Harry Potter films starred Daniel Radcliffe (right) as Harry Potter and Rupert Grint (left) as Ron Weasley

Fans rushed to buy tickets for the two-part show which will be performed at the Palace Theatre in London's West End from July 30 - which is JK Rowling and Harry Potter's birthday.

Not much is known about the show's direction or plot but it is set to follow on from the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

Rowling gave broad ideas to the play's scriptwriter, Jack Thorne, who then crafted the dialogue and direction.