Paapa Essiedu Discloses Racist Death Threats Over Snape Casting

British actor Paapa Essiedu has disclosed receiving racist death threats following his casting as Professor Severus Snape in HBO's upcoming television adaptation of the Harry Potter series. The threats, which began after the announcement in April 2025, include messages telling him to quit or face murder, according to Essiedu in a recent interview with The Times of London.

Essiedu, known for roles in series such as I May Destroy You and The Lazarus Project, described the online abuse as deeply personal. "The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, 'I'm going to come to your house and kill you,'" he said. "So while I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be murdered—that could age badly! But, yes, while I hope I'll be OK, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job." He noted that the harassment affects him emotionally, despite the relative safety of his work as a wizard in a fantasy story. Essiedu has chosen not to report the threats to authorities, believing that consequences for young offenders would not resolve the underlying issue. "No. I don't think some 17-year-old boy being put in jail for two weeks for threatening to murder me would...