Six months afterStar Warsmade the decision to cancelThe Acolyte, star Amandla Stenberg has reflected on just how bad things got for them when the vitriol surrounding the show was at its height. Unfortunately,Star Warshas quite a long history of racist backlash towards the franchise’s actors of color, as seen with John Boyega in theStar Warssequel trilogy and Moses Ingram inObi-Wan Kenobi.The Acolytewas the center of yet another backlash, and after many months of reflection, Stenberg has spoken out about its severity.
In a TikTok posted byStenberg, where she discusses the controversy surrounding her casting as the character Princess Amari in the upcoming movieChildren of Blood and Bone, the actor brings up their unfortunate familiarity with racist backlash that stems from being a part of theStar Warsuniverse. “I’ve been through a lot of sh*t, y’all,” Stenberg says. “Like,this year was mostly defined for me, honestly, by contending with what it felt like to receive racist death threats just for existing in the Star Wars universe.And that was a really difficult thing for me to move through.”
What Amandla Stenberg’s Acolyte Experience Means For Star Wars
Something Has To Change
As stated above, the racist backlash Stenberg received for simply existing as a character in theStar Warsuniverse isn’t anything new. This is a behavior that has continued and, if anything, has intensified more over the years as more actors of color, especially Black actors, have become a part of the galaxy. Things got so bad leading up to theObi-Wan KenobiTV show thatEwan McGregor made a video speaking toStar Warsfans, urging them to stop the hate for Ingram and reminding them that there’s no place for racist behaviorin theStar Warsfandom.
10 Ways Star Wars Can Redeem The Acolyte, After Its Sudden Cancelation
The Acolyte was canceled only a month after its first season ended, but there are many ways for Star Wars to redeem the show and continue its story.
Naturally, there’s no problem with criticizingThe Acolytefor its flaws; but the line has clearly been crossed, and even Obi-Wan Kenobi himself can’t convince some to stop what they’re doing. Stenberg was always a trueStar Warsfan at heart, even cosplaying as Padmé Amidala atStar WarsCelebration, and now she’s undoubtedly had to grow distant from something she loves. It’s clear Disney and Lucasfilm need to consider their own responses, and how to protect and support their cast.
The Hate For Star Wars' Actors Of Color Has To Stop
The Change Starts With Us
In an ideal world, Stenberg sharing their experience would be enough to motivate theStar Warsfandom into wanting to be better for other actors of color, but that hasn’t been the trend as of late. It’s interesting how, in a galaxy full of thousands upon thousands of different species, the color of a human’s skin earns them a twisted type of vitriol. It’s not enough for people to say that they’ve always loved Lando Calrissian, or that it has more to do with these actors' characters than the actors themselves.The harassment they receive online proves otherwise.
AsStar Warsfans, it’s time that we truly gathered together to fight in defense of actors of color, especially ifStar Warsthemselves won’t speak out about it. It’s a miracle that actors like John Boyega even continue to mentionStar Warsat all anymore, andif we want to continue seeing such talent within our galaxy, then we need to show up for them and protect them from the vitriol. What happened to Stenberg duringThe Acolyteis nothing short of abhorrent, and we must do everything in our power to keep it from happening again.
