J.K. Rowling smacks down racists freaking out over black woman playing Harry Potter character

Author J.K. Rowling took to Twitter on Monday to lash out at people outraged over the casting of a black actress of South African heritage to play the role of Hermione.

After word got out that Noma Dumezweni would be starring in the upcoming play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, a number of people complained on Twitter that the role was never intended for a black person. Hermione was played by Emma Watson in the Harry Potter movies.

"Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione," Rowling shot back on Twitter.

Rowling's tweeted had been "liked" nearly 40,000 times by Monday morning.

Although some pointed out that Rowling had made references to Hermione's white skin in her books, others noted that criticism was unwarranted because the play was an adaptation of Rowling's story.

"Interesting that some people find a black Hermione Granger harder to believe in than, you know, magic spells," one person quipped.