Tom Holland must call out the vile racist abuse of his co-star- or is he a coward?

RARELY is there a silver lining when it comes to racism.

- Emma Loffhagen

This is true in the case of the despicable barrage of abuse against actress Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, cast as Juliet alongside Tom Holland's Romeo in an upcoming West End production of Shakespeare's most famous play. But if there is one to be found, it would be the outpouring of love and support Amewudah-Rivers has since received from the industry.

Jamie Lloyd Company, which is behind the production, was quick to condemn the treatment of its star. In no uncertain terms, it condemned the trolling as "deplorable", stating that it would "continue to protect all members of the company at all costs".

Over the weekend, the Globe Theatre also came to Amewudah-Rivers' defence, putting out a thread on X, formerly Twitter, in which it explained the long historical precedent for a racially diverse casting of Juliet.

"Amewudah-Rivers' Juliet joins a long tradition of diverse, evolving interpretations of Shakespeare's tragic heroine," reads one of the posts. "There is no one Juliet. There never has been."