The director for the Tom Holland-led West End revival of Romeo & Juliet is speaking out about the apparent racial abuse of a cast member.

Director Jamie Lloyd released a statement condemning the harassment, THR reports. It was posted on the official production account.

It's all based on harassment claims of a cast member for the production opening at London's Duke of York's theatre on May 23. It will star Holland (Romeo), Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (Juliet), Freema Agyeman (nurse), Michael Balogun (friar), Tomiwa Edun (Capulet), Mia Jerome (Montague), Daniel Quinn-Toye (Count Paris), and Ray Sesay (Tybalt).

Statement about racial abuse of a cast member of Romeo & Juliet

The statement reads: “Following the announcement of our Romeo & Juliet cast, there has been a barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed towards a member of our company. This must stop. We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment.”

It added: “We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported. Bullying and harassment have no place online, in our industry or in our wider communities. Our rehearsal room is full of joy, compassion and kindness. We celebrate the extraordinary talent of our incredible collaborators.”

The message concludes: “The Romeo & Juliet community will continue to rehearse with generosity and love and focus on the creation of our production.”

Holland, who stars in the stage role, is best known for playing Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Plus, he starred in and was an executive producer of Apple TV+'s anthology series, The Crowded Room.

That said, he began his career onstage. He played on Billy Elliot: The Musical.

As for Juliet, who Amewudah-Rivers plays, she's no stranger to theatre. Her credits include School Sgirls, Othello, Ordinary Miracle, Animal Farm, and Macbeth. Plus, she was on Bad Education Series 4 and 5 that aired on the BBC.

Jamie Lloyd is the artistic director and executive producer of The Jamie Lloyd Company. His company has produced productions such as Sunset Boulevard, The Effect, A Doll's House, The Seagull, and many more.

This new Romeo & Juliet production will be Holland's nice comeback to the stage and a great opportunity for others involved.

Regarding the racial abuse, it's unclear who was involved in the incident(s) and what exactly happened. However, it seems to be mainly in the comments sections online. The official Instagram has removed the option to comment at this time.

It's good to hear Jamie Lloyd speak out about the incidents. It'll be great to see what he has put together with Romeo & Juliet when it hits the stage for only 12 weeks.