It’s sad that there are this many ‘Star Wars’ actors who have this experience with toxic fans
If you talk about actors who have been attacked for no reason by the Star Wars fanbase, the list is long. And unfortunately, it continues to get longer. Given the recent cancellation of The Acolyte, many “fans” took to mocking star Amandla Stenberg for the show’s ending.
So called fans of the franchise flooded their comments with excitement over the show getting canceled and said horrible things to Stenberg on posts that had nothing to do with the cancellation. Since then, other actors who have also felt the unnecessary (and at times racist or sexist) hatred of these “fans” have come out in support of Stenberg.
Ahmed Best knows that vitriol very well. The actor known best for his work as Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy took to Instagram to share his support of Stenberg, writing, “I will always stand in solidarity for artists who give 110% to their work and art. Keep shining queen.”
Best is also not the only former Star Wars star to come out in support of Stenberg. John Boyega, who played Finn in the sequel trilogy and also faced racist comments and backlash from “fans” of the franchise (the ones who try to disguise their racism as trying to “protect” the franchise), commented on Stenberg’s post after the cancellation. The image Stenberg posted was from prior to the announcement, and yet, these “fans” flooded the comments.
Boyega replied with a GIF of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) saluting, seemingly sharing his support and also saying that he knows what that vitriol is like.
This is a constant problem
When you think about racist or sexist attacks on Star Wars actors, the list is seemingly never-ending at this point. In the sequel trilogy, Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Kelly Marie Tran all faced none stop hate from these “fans” to the point where Ridley and Tran both left social media as a result. Boyega has been vocal about his experience with Star Wars and the racist hatred he faced from fans.
Actors like Jake Lloyd were attacked for simply being a kid in the franchise and “fans” were being weird about Vivien Lyra Blair as Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi. The official Star Wars account had to tell fans to stop being racist to Moses Ingram during that time, as well.
While fans online have pointed out that the official accounts are silent right now as the cast of The Acolyte has been attacked relentlessly, it does pose the question of what is enough for these racists? When will they stop? Any time an actor who isn’t white, straight, or male is in Star Wars, they throw a fit.
I don’t love that actors like Boyega and Best have to share their support because that shouldn’t be the case! These performers are playing characters in a fictional world and yet have to fight back against racism and a fanbase who wants to attack them daily. That’s not fair to these actors or the fans who do love them and the Star Wars stories they are telling.
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