If there is anything more evil than the Dark Side of the Force, it is racism. And it has infiltrated the Star Wars fandom.
Moses Ingram, the actress who portrays the Third Sister, Reva , in the Disney + series Obi-Wan Kenobi took to Instagram to address the racist comments she had received from some fans.
“There is nothing anyone can do about this,” said Ingram on her Instagram story which can be seen on the Twitter account, Sleemo. “There’s nothing anybody can do to stop this hate.”
Prior to posting her reaction, she also posted some of the racist comments directed at her on her Instagram story.
“I think that the thing that bothers me is that sort of this feeling that I have inside of myself, which no one has told me, but this feeling of like ‘I just got to shut up and take it’ you know? I just kind of got to bury it and I’m not built like that,” continued Ingram.
Ingram thanked fans for supporting her on social media and also had a message to the fans who sent her the racist messages.
“I really just wanted to come on and say thank you to the people who show up for me in the comments and the places that I am not going to put myself and to the rest of you all: you’re all weird,” Ingram concluded.
As a result of the Instagram post, Ingram received support from none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, Ewan McGregor. Star Wars took to both Twitter and Instagram to post a video message from McGregor, who is both the lead actor and executive producer on the show, in which he offered his support his costar.
A personal message from Ewan McGregor. pic.twitter.com/rJSDmj663K
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 1, 2022
“Moses is a brilliant actor, she’s a brilliant woman and she’s absolutely amazing in the series.” Said McGregor. “She brings so much to the series, she brings so much to the franchise and it just sickens me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening.”
McGregor then concluded the video that the entire cast stands with the actress and they love her. And like Ingram, he too also ended the video with a message those who made the derogatory posts.
“And if you are sending her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind,” said McGregor.
Ingram is not the first actress to face backlash from some of the Star Wars fans.
When the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered, British actor John Boyega, also received backlash for his portrayal of Finn, a former First Order Stormtrooper who defected to the Resistance. Finn is the first character that appears in the trailer which came out around November 2014.
According to an article from Buzzfeed, Many posts on Twitter questioned why a Boyega, a black man, would be wearing stormtrooper armor. However, other fans posts defended Boyega. As a result of the backlash, Boyega made a post (which has since been removed) thanking fan for support. The post ending with “To whom it may concern… Get used to it. :)”
In addition, Boyega’s fellow costar Kelly Marie Tran, a Vietnamese-American actress also received racist insults on her social media feed. According to an article form the Hollywood Reporter, Tran who portrayed Rose Tico a maintenance worker and fighter for the Resistance, in Star Wars: Episode VII-The Last Jedi, “wiped her Instagram” account and had to go to therapy as a result of the criticism she received.
Other actors and actresses of color from different genres have also faced racist criticism after being casts in roles. Notably, Candice Patton faced anti-Black backlash when she was cast as Iris West in the CW’s The Flash, the love interest of the titular superhero, The Flash, Barry Allen. The backlash would force the CW to enact a policy that would “take a stance against racism” and other forms of bigotry. The actress also offered her support for Boyega after he revealed his treatment while working on the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney+.
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