Harry Potter actor Katie Leung has shared how she was told to deny racist abuse from fans during film by film bosses.
Scottish actor Katie Leung, 33, who played Cho Chang in the films alongside Daniel Radcliffe, claimed publicists told her to stay silent on racist abuse after alerting them to it.
Leung spoke about her experience on an episode of the 'Chinese Chippy Girl' podcast, describing how the racist abuse started after she landed a role in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
She told the podcast: "I was Googling myself at one point, and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom.
"I remember reading all the comments. And, yeah, it was a lot of racist s***."
After telling publicists for the film about it, Katie, who had not received media training, said she was told not to speak about it.
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. 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."
"I was really f***ing grateful that I was in the position I was in. I keep saying, 'Oh I wish I’d maybe said something.' But you can’t do that," Katie added.
Scottish-born Katie, who is of Chinese descent, went on to appear in several other Potter films and also landed roles in The Nest and other TV shows.
Warner Bros have yet to comment on the claims.
