Racist backlash against a newly-announced Percy Jackson and the Olympians star has provoked the book’s author to speak out.

In the days after the announcement of Leah Jeffries playing Percy Jackson and the Olympians character Annabeth Chase in the upcoming Disney+ series, actress Leah Jeffries has received a wave of racist attacks, leading author of the series to put out a stern statement denouncing the attacks.

In a post on his website, author Rick Riordan wrote a post entitled, “Leah Jeffries is Annabeth Chase.”