Anna Diop disables Instagram comments as racist trolls claim actor is too dark to play orange alien

Anna Diop has been forced to disable her Instagram comments after comic book fans flooded her page with racist abuse – all because she is set to play an orange alien in Titans.

It seems as if some comic book fans have got their knickers in a twist over the casting in the TV series.

Anna, who is a dark-skin actor, is playing an orange alien princess named Koriandr/Starfire in the upcoming series from DC Universe – but bigoted comic fans have taken an issue to it solely because of her skin colour.

We kid you not – according to the trolls she is too dark to play a fictional non-human character.

The backlash first began after a set photo leaked in April, and it resurfaced when the latest trailer for the show was recently revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con last weekend.

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In a now-deleted Instagram post, the Senegalese-American actor addressed the hate she received online at the time and described the picture as a misrepresentation of the incredible character I get to play.

Racist, derogatory, and/or cruel comments have nothing to do with the person on the receiving end of that abuse. And because I know this – Im unfazed.

Now the 30-year-old has now received support from How To Get Away With Murder actor Kendrick Sampson who blasted recent trolls.

Sending you love, light & peace @the_annadiop No one should have to experience the racism and intersectional oppression that black women, especially dark skinned black women, wait…. and even MORESO dark skinned, black immigrant women have to go through every. damn. day. I wont go into some of the VILE shit that has been thrown at Anna for playing a FICTIONAL ALIEN CHARACTER. And the majority of the time the abuse goes unchecked. Fuck that. #IStandWithAnnaDiop *** Thank you @minkakelly for such powerful words in support of one of the people I love most in this world @the_annadiop . #repost @minkakellys words “I would like to take a moment to acknowledge how proud and excited I am to be working alongside @The_AnnaDiop. In my humble opinion, @DCUTitans, @theDCuniverse and all of their fans are lucky to have her talent, her grace and her beauty on board. While the abhorrent racism in this country seems to be going nowhere anytime soon (#NiaWilson), the dignity, strength and couth my friend continues to exemplify in the face of it humbles and inspires me. That so many racist cowards would take the time to attack her instagram so that she has to shut off comments after having already shut down her entire account once before over this bullshit makes me feel rage. Though I also feel a small relief knowing how strong and thick-skinned Anna is. I know she is and will be ok. It takes zero courage to sit in your dark lonely room spewing your venom online while protected by your anonymous faceless accounts. I cannot begin to fathom the courage it requires everyday just to exist as a black woman in this country (#ChikesiaClemons) let alone to also have the audacity to fight for and follow your dreams. I bow to you, Anna. I cant wait for everyone to see the brilliant work youve done. Shine on, my love. You are a queen and all the people who matter know it. ” #IStandwithAnnaDiop

A post shared by Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) on Jul 26, 2018 at 8:51am PDT

In a post on Instagram, the actor posted a selfie of himself and Anna, describing the backlash as vile shit.

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In the powerful post he said: No one should have to experience the racism and intersectional oppression that black women, especially dark skinned black women, wait…. and even MORESO dark skinned, black immigrant women have to go through every. damn. day.

I wont go into some of the VILE shit that has been thrown at Anna for playing a FICTIONAL ALIEN CHARACTER. And the majority of the time the abuse goes unchecked. Fuck that.

He later added: I cannot begin to fathom the courage it requires every day just to exist as a black woman in this country.

Charlies Angels Minka Kelly also took to Instagram to defend her Titans co-star, writing: That so many racist cowards would take the time to attack her instagram so that she has to shut off comments after having already shut down her entire account once before over this bullshit makes me feel rage.

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Titans follows a grown-up Dick Grayson, played with Brenton Thwaites, as he becomes involved in a conspiracy along with a young girl called Rachel Roth (Teagan Croft).

More: Comic-Con

To stop the plot that threatens the entire planet, Dick and Rachel join forces with alien princess Koriandr / Starfire and shape-shifting Garfield Logan / Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) to form a superhero team to end it all.

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