The Times newspaper received heavy backlash after it used a photo of actor Daniel Radcliffe dressed as a neo-Nazi in its roundup of what the actors from the ‘Harry Potter’ movies are doing a decade later.
In an article on Friday titled, “The cast of Harry Potter — where are they now?” The Times used a photo from the 2016 movie ‘Imperium’, which showed a skinhead Radcliffe – who played the titular character in the ‘Harry Potter’ movies – dressed in a ‘white power’ shirt.
In ‘Imperium’, Radcliffe plays an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates a neo-Nazi gang plotting a terrorist attack. Though the newspaper did note in the article that the photo was from a movie, a Twitter post by the Times failed to state the origin of the image – showing without context a Nazi-dressed Radcliffe under the caption, “So what are the Hogwarts alumni up to now?”
Many social media users protested the newspaper’s editorial decision and complained that it was particularly offensive since Radcliffe is Jewish on his mother’s side.
“Deeply irresponsible picture choice to use without context,” protested one person, while another called for the staffer responsible to be fired.