Jason Isaacs is calling out Harry Potter fans for their comments about the show’s casting.

The 62-year-old actor originally played the role of Lucius Malfoy in the movies. On Saturday (July 5), Jason attended a panel at FanExpo Denver where he spoke to Collider about the upcoming Harry Potter series.

In specific, Jason defended the actor chosen to play Severus Snape, Paapa Essiedu.

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At the panel, Jason sang the praises of everyone cast in the Harry Potter series but singled out Paapa for specific praise.

“Paapa Essiedu is one of the best actors I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve seen some people online who are being rude about him. What they’re being is racist. All the cast of the new Harry Potter TV series are amazing. They will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully — you know, their digital tongues — when they see what [Paapa] does on screen,” Jason said at the panel.

If you missed it, author J.K. Rowling recently reacted to Paapa‘s support of the transgender community.