Noma Dumezweni on the backlash to black Hermione: 'It drives me crazy'

She may have J.K. Rowling’s blessing, but Noma Dumezweni’s casting as adult Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been a hellish experience — at least on social media, where the casting decision has been met with a barrage of vitriol since its announcement back in December.

Now, on the heels of the play's previews in London's West End, Dumezweni is opening up about the racist trolling she’s experienced.

"I am a black woman who has been given this character called Hermione to play on the stage. But actually, we’ve all grown up with the books, with Emma Watson playing her in the films. Imagery is so strong," the Olivier award-winning star told the Sunday Times, adding, "My name is being tagged into stuff that’s not nice, that’s not nice."

"It’s ignorance. It drives me crazy. It’s a limitation. Because this is absolutely a different form," Dumezweni said of the play.

Still, the stage actress appears to be powering through in the name of the art.

"I’m not stupid, it’s a great story," Dumezweni said before later noting, "Every girl, every walk of life, every race, gets it: 'How do we go into the world?' I want to go into the world the way she does. Am I brave enough to go through what she does?"