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Notes -
The critical drinker has a fantastic video (14 mins) about this very subject where he essentially says that media companies are intentionally riling up their fan bases through race-bait-and-switch tactics in order to drum up controversy. I've personally suspected this very thing, which is why it was so unsurprising to me that ROP started out with this exact marketing ploy.
To be clear, I was uninterested in ROP when I learned they didn't actually have the rights to the stories that interested me from the Silmarillion or other lore companions to LOTR. I couldn't care less if female dwarves are black and beardless so long as the story is good and true to tolkein's vision, but leading with "guh, racists will hate this!1!" Is pretty transparent.
And to be fair, it makes business sense. The media landscape is replete with incredible content, more than any one person could possibly consume in a lifetime. Somehow, your "most expensive show ever" needs to generate clicks in a way more desperate than ever (especially considering the price tag). As the saying goes, all press is good press, and if you are at the center of the culture-war media hate-hurricane then you are going to get much larger volume clicks than you would by advertising towards the dozen or so nerds who actually read the Silmarillion.
Anyway, in true TLP style, if you are seeing it then the message was intended for you. Elvis sold hundreds of thousands of "I Hate Elvis" merchandise, media companies get more volume through constant controversy, and our obsession with it all is what keeps the machine churning. Participation is approval, which is why I'll be rereading The Children of Húrin in silent bliss. Perhaps I'll start a little book club here in protest, where we all enjoy esoteric tolkein; I would just rather talk about anything other than race-baiting sycophants desperately clawing at my wallet.
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