“Racist Death Threats Just For Existing In The Star Wars Universe”: Six Months After The Acolyte’s Cancelation, Star Amandla Stenberg Remembers How Bad It Got

Six months after Star Wars made the decision to cancel The 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 Wars has quite a long history of racist backlash towards the franchise’s actors of color, as seen with John Boyega in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Moses Ingram in Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Acolyte was the center of yet another backlash, and after many months of reflection, Stenberg has spoken out about its severity.

In a TikTok posted by Stenberg, where she discusses the controversy surrounding her casting as the character Princess Amari in the upcoming movie Children of Blood and Bone, the actor brings up their unfortunate familiarity with racist backlash that stems from being a part of the Star Wars universe. “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 the Star Wars universe 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 the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV show that Ewan McGregor made a video speaking to Star Wars fans, urging them to stop the hate for Ingram and reminding them that there’s no place for racist behavior in the Star Wars fandom.

Naturally, there’s no problem with criticizing The Acolyte for 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 true Star Wars fan at heart, even cosplaying as Padmé Amidala at Star Wars Celebration, 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 the Star Wars fandom 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.

As Star Wars fans, it’s time that we truly gathered together to fight in defense of actors of color, especially if Star Wars themselves won’t speak out about it. It’s a miracle that actors like John Boyega even continue to mention Star Wars at all anymore, and if 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 during The Acolyte is nothing short of abhorrent, and we must do everything in our power to keep it from happening again.

Source: Amandla Stenberg

TV Show

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The Acolyte

7/10

Release Date

2024 – 2023

Showrunner

Leslye Headland

Directors

Leslye Headland, Alex Garcia Lopez

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