Rachel Butera, who is set to voice Princess Leia, in the upcoming Star Wars: Resistance, faces backlash after mocking Christine Blasey Ford’s voice in a now-deleted tweet. Butera does not represent the qualities of Leia.
Ugh … really?
That was the quick response to seeing Rachel Butera mock Christine Blasey Ford’s voice while she testified in front of the senate about her sexual assault accusations toward Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Here’s my longer reponse:
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Butera, is the voice of Princess Leia in the upcoming Star Wars: Resistance animated series. Her mocking of Ford’s voice in a now-deleted tweet is at minimum offensive and disgusting. And given who she is representing in the Star Wars universe, it makes it feel even dirtier.
Princess Leia would never be one to mock an alleged sexual assault victim, and Carrie Fisher would be appalled.
Instead, we now have Butera representing a cultural icon.
To many Princess Leia was a role model, someone we saw for the first time as a young girl and learned we can fight our own way out of a battle.
Leia’s Star Wars: Resistance character is now tainted and has cast a pall over the upcoming animated series, which is just over a week away from its premiere. Disappointment doesn’t even begin to explain the feelings I have over this.
Princess Leia is more than just a fictional character to Star Wars fans. She embodied hope, love and tenacity. She became a light in the dark. She was our Princess and so much more. And Fisher was the real-life version of that, standing for women’s right, mental health issues, and much more.
At this point, I’m not sure Lucasfilm can change the person who voiced Leia in the scenes that are completed, considering Star Wars: Resistance is set to premiere on Sunday, October 7. But one thing is certain, she should not be our Princess Leia beyond this.
She doesn’t not represent what Leia has stood for even with backtracking apologies.