The first cast photos for the stage production of Harry Potter have been released today amidst controversy over the decision to re-cast Ron as an internet famous disabled cat.

Monty, a cat with chromosome abnormalities who has over 250,000 likes on Facebook, entered into talks with Sonia Friedman Productions this week following ongoing disputes over the description of Ron’s species in the books.

‘I’m so happy I get to take part in something as totally PAWsome as Harry Potter!’ Monty’s owners  posted to his Facebook page this morning. ‘Happy Caturday!’
There then followed a 2 hour livestream of the cat trying and failing to eat some food.

When asked to comment, the casting director Julia Horan released a brief statement saying:

‘We auditioned hundreds of brilliant actors for the role of Ron, but Monty was he only one who truly captured how pathetic and ineffectual Ron is at the heart of his character. It has nothing to do with species. Also, he was the hairiest candidate which is definitely a direction we want to take Ron in.’

In response to the controversy, fanned by subreddits r/rowlinginaction and  r/cuckedbyronagain, J.K. Rowling took to twitter in support of the new casting decision.

Claims that Ron’s character has been appropriated by animal rights activists to highlight their political causes have been circulating on Reddit and Twitter.

‘They’re disregarding Ron’s point in the story’ Reddit user Bum23 wrote in a post that has garnered at the time of writing 4382 upvotes on r/harrypotter.

‘In the books Ron actively campaigns for the destruction of animals, he would  never go “oh, we need to donate to an animal sanctuary”. It would’ve completely ruined the wizard holocaust arc.’

The producers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child however, insist that the casting decision is final and that Monty will be joining the rest of the cast in rehearsals later this summer.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36415909