Who is Leah Jeffries And Why Are Percy Jackson Fans Trolling Her?

Who is Leah Jeffries? Actor Leah Jeffries is going to be seen playing the role of Annabeth Chase in the upcoming series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The show is based on a book of the same name written by author Rick Riordan. Jeffries was trolled for playing the character which was originally written for a white person.

The author came in defence of the trolls on Jeffries and wrote a blog post on May 10. Jeffries will be starring in the show opposite Walker Scobell, who will be playing the role of Percy and Aryan Simhadri, who will be playing the role of Grover. The fans of the book attacked Jeffries online for her being a black actor and not matching the book's description of the character.

Riordan wrote, "This post is specifically for those who have a problem with the casting of Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase. It's a shame such posts need to be written, but they do...Lead brings so much energy and enthusiasm to the role, so much of Annabeth's strength. She will be a role model for new generations of girls who will see in her the kind of hero they want to be."

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He also asked the trolls to take up the issue with him on the casting of the actors. "Whatever else you take from this post, we should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusable wrong. As strong as Leah is, as much as we have discussed the potential for this kind of reaction and the intense pressure this role will bring, the negative comments she has received online are out of line. They need to stop. Now."

Who Is Leah Jeffries?

Born on September 25, 2009, she is a 12-year-old artist. She was born in Detroit, Michigan. Other than being an actor, she is also a model and has appeared in various commercials.

Her parents are Princess Leah Jeffries and Floyd S Jeffries Junior. Her mother is a radio personality at TheLeahLiveShow and is the owner of a production company named LeeJeffProductions LLC.

She made her acting debut as Lola Lyon in FOX series Empire, which ran from 2015 to 2020. She has also acted in the Beast and will be making an appearance in Something From Tiffany's.

Feature Image Credit: Just Jared Jr