After Previously Telling Critics To “Shut The F*** Up” ‘The Rings Of Power’ Actress Morfydd Clark Now Says “If I Was On The Other Side, I’d Also Be Feeling Like That”
John F. Trent
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Actress Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, completely changed her tune when it comes to responding to criticism of the show, her character, and her castmates in a recent interview.
Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power (2022)
During the lead-up to the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Clark took it upon herself to insinuate that critics of the show and its radical changes to Tolkien’s lore were racists.
In August, she posted to her Instagram Stories writing, “Anyone sending hate to my black cast mates, get off my page, get off the internet, and shut up.”
Morfydd Clark Instagram
She followed that up with a short video of her castmate, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, making a hand motion that reveals the phrase “Shut the f*** up.” She then captioned it writing, “Who made this?”
Morfydd Clark Instagram
Not only did Clark insinuate that critics of the numerous changes the show made to Tolkien’s lore were racists, but she also demanded those critics’ silence.
On top of this, she would also attempt to defend the radical changes the show made by making the nonsensical argument that no one could have known what Tolkien wanted or liked despite him explicitly writing it down in his novels and his letters.
She told Inverse, “[Tolkien] was a really complex person who wrote a really complex world and this idea that anyone could know exactly what he would’ve wanted or what he would’ve liked is, I feel, nonsense.”
Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) draws her blades against two upstart warriors in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 Episode 5 “Parting” (2022), Amazon Studios
However, her tune has seemingly changed. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Clark was asked, “Now that the first season has aired, how are you taking in feedback on your character and the show?”
She replied, “Because I’m a fan of this type of genre, I’ve read books that have then been turned into things, and I’ve been like, I don’t think the house would’ve looked like that. So, I really get it.”
She continued, “What’s so wonderful about these worlds and these characters is that they don’t exist and yet they do so intensely in so many minds. So I think there’s an idea that you can’t please everyone. But also, I do respect the ownership of her because I know if I was on the other side, I’d also be feeling like that.”
Clark concluded, “I feel very protective about that. I feel quite protective of making sure she’s safe from harm.”
Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn and Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’
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Unfortunately, Clark has completely failed in that regard given how the first season depicts the character. YouTuber The One Ring accurately points out how the character was twisted and warped from Tolkien’s character.
He explained, “They changed her into a character that doesn’t resemble what Tolkien actually wrote. They made her a commander of armies that’s fueled by anger. That’s fueled by self-centeredness, self-righteousness, and bad manners.”
Interestingly, Clark admits Galadriel was mischaracterized in the first season albeit she appears to tacitly justify the decision, “So last season I think that her grief was so intense, her sadness was so huge. I think when you are in those points of ultimate lows, you do end up becoming self-obsessed. You can’t see anything beyond this haze of misery. And now that has started to clear.”
As for what to expect in the second season for her character, Clark detailed, “Hopefully, with that she’s rediscovering the beauty of life and what she was really trying to protect the whole time beyond herself. That’s something I just love about Tolkien: You need to be connected to the world and those around you.”
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Lloyd Owen as Elendil, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
What do you make of Clark’s apparent about-face and admission that she now respects those who criticize the Rings of Power’s changes to Tolkien’s lore?
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