Katie Leung, who played the role of Cho Chang in the Harry Potter movies, has said in a recent episode of the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast that her publicists told her to deny that she was being subjected to racist abuse online when she told them about it following the announcement of her role.
“I was, like, googling myself at one point, and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the kind of Harry Potter fandom. I remember reading all the comments. And yeah, it was a lot of racist sh*t,” she said.
“I remember them saying to me, ‘Oh, look, Katie, we haven’t seen these, these websites that people are talking about. And you know? If you get asked that, just say it’s not true, say it’s not happening’,” Katie Leung said.
She added, “And I just nodded my head. I was like, ‘Okay, okay,’ even though I had seen it myself with my own eyes. I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll just say everything’s great.'”
Katie Leung has featured in other movies and television shows as well following her stint in the Harry Potter movies. In the movies, Cho Chang is a student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who Harry Potter has a crush on.
She says that she is grateful for being a part of the movies but it was difficult in its own way. She first made an appearance during the fourth movie of the franchise, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She is a Scottish actress of Hong Kong descent.