The cancellation after one season of The Acolyte is a source of mixed feelings for the audiences and all eyes are on the actors and creators involved in the process.
Earlier this week, Lee Jung-Jae said, "To hear the news, I was quite surprised personally as well." I felt disappointed and slightly cheated by never seeing the ending of this story, so when Amandla Stenberg took to X for eight and a half minutes in response, I wanted to hear it all. Here are some highlights of her thoughts.
"I'm gonna be transparent"
To listen to the whole video, readers can find it on @cosmic_marvel.
Amandla Stenberg breaks her silence on the cancellation of ‘THE ACOLYTE’ and more:
— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) August 28, 2024
“It’s not a huge shock for me [that it was cancelled]. Of course, I live in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren’t aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced… pic.twitter.com/MBhNnXRCfD
Stenberg does not hold back on how the negativity affected her, saying that "there's been a rampage of vitriol that we've faced since the show was announced" and mentioning "hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language towards us." While she saw it coming--she is not the only actor to be targeted for her appearance or life choices by more toxic members of the Star Wars fandom--she admits that "It's not something that you can really understand what it feels like until it's happening to you." She decided to honor her "sense of ethics" while experiencing all that this has entailed "by being vocal even within the context of working for Disney and...within the large massive IP that is Star Wars."
While it was difficult, she used this platform to exhort those watching:
"It's not lost on me how the way that the way that these events have unfolded is also due to the hyper-divisiveness of the time that we live in and is driven at this point by echo chambers of thought and algorithms that reinforce our biases. I would challenge us all and challenge myself to think critically about what I digest."
"Completely worthwhile for me."
The star of the show was indomitable, though. While she signed off with "Let's vote, y'all," she had a lot more to say to and about the show's supporters. One thank you went to Lucasfilm for being an "awesome team." She mentioned that Rain Roberts had "such vision and hope and such a mission for what we were going to continue bringing into the sci-fi universe and into the Star Wars universe." She credited director Leslye Headland as "one of the best people in the world."
She also turned her love outwards to the fans. She kept her spirits up with fan art and theories, which were "just so beautiful and filled my heart with joy." When audiences opposed the negativity, she says, "You were deeply loved and appreciated and it made this job worthwhile for me and it made all of the challenging elements of it completely worthwhile for me."
Stenberg said it best with a tribute to the nature of the fans:
"I just want to thank everybody who watched it. Thank you for being so loving and supportive and excited and nerdy and awesome."Amandla Stenberg
We will watch Amandla's career with great interest, but we are grateful for the heartfelt messages she shared with the community in the midst of disappointment.