The Hunger Games racism: Rue responds

Mar 28, 2012 3:22 PM by Sara McGinnis

Posted in Entertainment / Movies & Reviews

**Amandla Stenberg Addresses THG Haters**

Amandla Stenberg, currently on a rocket to fame thanks to her role as Rue in The Hunger Games, is holding her young head high amidst a controversy about race.

Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg has spoken out to address racist comments that have appeared on Twitter in response to her role as Rue in The Hunger Games. The young star has been attacked for her skin color despite author Suzanne Collins describing the character as "having dark brown skin and eyes" in her hit novel.

One such racist Hunger Games tweet stated, "Why does rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie."

Another tweeted, "Why did the producer make all the good characters black?"

The Hunger Games scorches at the box office >>

In response to the controversy, 13-year-old Amandla Stenberg told Us Weekly in a statement, "As a fan of the books, I feel fortunate to be part of The Hunger Games family."

"It was an amazing experience; I am proud of the film and my performance," the actress went on to say. "I want to thank all of my fans and the entire Hunger Games community for their support and loyalty."

Racist HG fans attack Lenny Kravitz and Amandla Stenberg >>

Veteran actor and musician Lenny Kravitz, who took on the role of stylist Cinna, has also been mentioned in the controversy, though Suzanne Collins did not describe the character's race in The Hunger Games book.

A rep for Dayo Okeniyi, who took on the role of District 11's Thresh, said the Nigerian actor had no comment on the The Hunger Games controversy over race.

Despite the hateful tweets sent by a few, many more fans are speaking out in support of the actors. One such Twitter user commented Wednesday, "You are a racist & should be ashamed if you have a problem with the casting of Rue in The Hunger Games."

How do you think young Amandla Stenberg did responding to the hate tweets?

Image via WENN

Tags: amandla stenberg lenny kravitz the hunger games

Comments

Comments on "The Hunger Games racism: Rue responds"

WOW soo many racists!! how can anyone hate the adorable little rue, it makes me sad that racism is still alive in 2013, being in NA the most diverse country and yet the most racist, what are the schools and parents teaching their kids? When i saw the movie, i thought the actress who played rue was so adorable and lovable! YOU RACIST ALL NEED TO GROW UP, YOUR HATE IS NOT HELPING ANYONE.

This is horrible. That girl should ignore everything them people say. She is an amazing actress and people should never judge somebodys talent by their race. Eddie Murphy, Will smith and Whoopie Goldburg are all black aren't they! They are really sucessful! So Amandla should keep in her mind that she is Amazing.

I'am 15 years old girl, Filipino, i was so confused why does other white people criticized the black people., it sucks., you are so RACIST.., RUE, CINNA and THRESH did it very good in the movie., they are awesome actors/actress, RACIST people are just insecure of them, I was so disappointed when i saw the tweets of other people criticizing rue, cinna and thresh., I HATE IT., why are you judging like that., It doesn't matter in their skins, what matter most is that they really act well in the movie., >:(

I liked Rues character it made the movie more interesting because she was shadowing Katniss and she was sweet because she took care of her when she had got stung Im about to be 13 on Tuesday, November 13 . I love Rue and thats my role Model and yes she is sneaky, I laughed when she took the boys knife and cried when the spear went into her chest and it seemed Like I knew the song that Katniss sung to her as she died,! After the movie I kept singing. The song,! Lol I love Rue

I thought she was the perfect actress to play Rue. Even though I saw the movie before reading the book, color didn't make a difference. Personally I thought it was better the way it was.

wow people are just stupid IF you read the books and actually PAID ATTENTION the author does describe Rue as dark skinned. when i heard about casting the first time i was like what? but when i went back and reread the books it does say that. i don't know why people make it such a big deal the actress did a wonderful job and when she died (in the book and the movie) i totally snot cried! i don't know why people have to be so stupid

Amandla Stenberg is awesome. She is an amazing actress and really strong as a person. All along, as I read the books, she was EXACTLY how I pictured Rue. I saw the movie and thought she played the part really well. All the racist people should try and play Rue the way Amandla did, and I bet they couldn't do it half as well as she.

She's a brilliant actress. There will always be ignorant, terrible racist people. Just ignore them. Racism will die out(: RUE KICKED ASS IN THAT MOVIE! :D

I am a 40 year old black female, and I have to say that when I saw the movie I was pleased; it was a very entertaining movie as well as exciting. The one thing I did notice, because I had read some of the tweets before I saw the movie, was that race did not effect the movie at all. All the characters seemed to fit together naturally. Everything seemed as it should be. I thought all the characters were great, and I thought little precious Rue was just beautiful. Her acting was beautiful and she looked beautiful. What is this world coming to when we are attacking kids; especially attacking something they have no control over, the color of their skin. Anyhow much support to the movie and the cast. One last thing, Lenny is awesome in whatever he does. I can see why some would hate on him. He's not a child and he is not as cute as Rue. So for him I am not that outraged, he's got broad shoulders. He also has a lot to hate on: talented, handsome, and smart, so I can see haters coming out to hate. He was wonderful in the movie.

What a great response! So glad she didn't lower herself to their level! What a strong girl, to keep her head held high in the midst of all that crap. It was clearly stated in the book that Rue had dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes. I pictured her as a dark skinned girl with curly black hair. Haven't seen the movie yet, but after this, I'll definitely go see it.