Nico Parker responds to racist backlash to her Astrid casting
Speaking with The Times, Nico said: “There’s some people that really love the animated movies and really want to see an exact play-by-play of that film, and I hope that you can watch [the new version] and find something that you love about it, regardless.”
However, Nico then called out people commenting on her race. She said: “But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change — when it comes to that side of things, I just don’t care.”
Nico added: “If I wouldn’t value your opinion on most things in life, I can’t value your opinion on my hair. If I did, I would go mad.”
Nico also discussed what it being cast in the film means to her personally. She said: “When I was younger, the amount of mixed race or Black icons, people that I would look to on screen to be like, ‘Oh, this feels like me,’ felt really minimal in comparison to what it could be for young people now, and I think that’s really special.”
She then ended the interview by saying: “There’s still a long way to go — for women in general, in terms of new parts, original material and female-led stories. But I think that everything’s changing. I’d like to think that I could contribute to that change at some point.”
