Many creators stay far away from social media. That’s understandable: Twitter is a cesspit of racists, trolls, and simply the extremely stupid. But The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman has been active on the internet since the 1990s and is more than willing to wade into a comment section to dish out some burns.
His skills have recently been put to the test with the release of The Sandman, which has vastly exceeded Netflix’s expectations and continues to top charts around the world nearly a month after its release. Much of the so-called ‘controversy’ around the show has centered on the casting, with Gaiman and casting director Lucinda Syson not restricting themselves to the gender or race of the character in the original comics.
This has resulted in smash-hit casting like Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, and Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer. But, sadly, some fans are still griping even after the show has become a phenomenon, and Gaiman is ready with a withering response:
Ouch. Well, let’s face it if you say “I am not absolutely racist” at the start of a statement what follows is almost certainly going to be racist as all hell.
It’s also worth pointing out that Delirium hasn’t appeared in the show yet and (as far as we know) hasn’t been cast. But of all the Endless she tends to change her general appearance more frequently, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the Netflix character was different from the comic.
The real lesson here is that if you come at the King you best not miss, as Gaiman has left a trail of haters deleting their accounts after being humiliated by him in his wake. We’re glad he’s so active on Twitter and we’re keeping a close eye out for any news on The Sandman‘s second season.