Posted in: Disney+, Movies, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: star wars, The Acolyte

The Acolyte Star: Disney Didn't Do Enough to Defend Amandla Stenberg

The Acolyte star Jodie Turner-Smith called out Disney for not doing enough to defend Amandla Stenberg and challenged studios to do more.

It's coming up on two months since the news came down that Leslye Headland's Amandla Stenberg & Lee Jung-jae-starring The Acolyte would not be returning for a second season – a move that's still being felt among a whole lot of "Star Wars" fans who feel Lucasfilm and Disney gave into the toxic trolling gatekeepers who shit-talked the series before it even hit screens and then review-bombed the series once it did – with Stenberg bearing the brunt of the online abuse. Unfortunately, this is far from the first instance of this happening, and it's a problem that extends well beyond Disney to all of the other studios and streamers. But are the studios and streamers doing enough to protect and defend their shows and the creative folks who are bringing them to life from the attacks? A lot of folks don't believe so – and that includes actor Jodie Turner-Smith, who portrayed Mother Aniseya in the "Star Wars" prequel series.

During a profile interview as Glamour UK's Woman of the Year, Turner-Smith shared how much it meant to her when Stenberg shared with her an essay she had written explaining how Stenberg was approaching her characters. "She put so much care and thought and love into that, and it's disappointing to feel like your studio is not having your back in a very public-facing way," Turner-Smith noted, referencing the feeling that many have that more could've been done on the corporate side to make Stenberg feel more supported.

"They've got to stop doing this thing where they don't say anything when people are getting fucking dog-piled on the internet with racism and bullshit. It's just not fair to not say anything. It's really unfair," Turner-Smith continued. "It would just be nice if the people that have all the money were showing their support and putting their feet down. Say this is unacceptable: 'You're not a fan if you do this.' Make a really big statement and just see if any money leaves," she added, challenging the studios and streamers to step up. "I bet you it won't because people of colour, and especially Black people, make up a very large percentage of buying power. They might find that it's actually more lucrative for them, but everyone's using 'woke' like it's a dirty word."

The Acolyte Ending "Not a Huge Shock": Stenberg on Experiencing Hate

Back in August, we got a chance to hear from the show's major player – Stenberg, who made it clear that they weren't surprised by the news because of the hate that they knew they personally – and the show overall – would face for daring to offer something different, with a cast the represents the diversity of the "Star Wars" fandom. "It's not a huge shock for me. 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 since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept, no one had even seen it. That's when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language toward us," Stenberg shared during an Instagram Stories video addressing the show's cancellation. "This really affected me when I first got the job because it's just not something even though I anticipated it happening; it's not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it's happening to you." Here's a look at what Stemberg had to share:

"Hello, I thought I would get on here and just speak candidly. I hate doing this. I hate doing this, but I'm gonna do it. I honestly, I don't use social media very much anymore, and I'm so happy about that, but there are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge, and I want to show appreciation and love and support for, so that's why I'm hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our show, our 'Star Wars' show, has been canceled. And I'm gonna say, I'm really transparent, and say that it's not a huge shock for me. 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 since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept, no one had even seen it. That's when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language toward us. This really affected me when I first got the job, because it's just not something even though I anticipated it happening, it's not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it's happening to you," Stenberg shared.

The Acolyte star continued, "On that topic, I just have to say it has been an incredible honor and dream for me to be in this universe. Even though, of course, I'm very sad about the show being canceled, and I'm sad about us not being able to give people who are invested into it more because…. I still just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that it that I got to experience it, and that people loved it, and that people were so responsive. I poured through a lot of different iterations of fan art and ship art and fan theories and things that were just so beautiful and filled my heart with joy. I just want to let those people know out there who supported us in that way and supported us vocally, despite and in the face of all of the vitriol that we received and the kind of the targeted attack, I would say we received by the alt-right, just that you are deeply loved and appreciated. It made this job all the worthwhile for me, and it made all of the challenging elements of it completely worthwhile for me. That plus my love of sci-fi and fantasy and being able to be a part of the legacy of something that I so deeply value, and something that means so much to me and I've looked up to for so long."

"I also just want to say thank you to Lucasfilm for just being a f***ing awesome team. They were so wonderful to work with. Everybody that I worked with in Lucasfilm, particularly Rayne Roberts, my producer. Who just had such vision and hope and such a mission for what we were going to continue bringing into the 'Star Wars' universe. And it was a really beautiful, energizing, life-changing experience to be a part of. And I have to thank Leslye Headland, who just, I just f***ing love that b***h. Excuse my French. She's just one of the best people in the world. I think she's so incredibly talented and unique and kind, and I'll love her forever, and I will love this experience with her forever. But at the end of the day, I also just want to thank everybody who watched it. Thank you for being so loving and supportive and excited and nerdy and awesome, and I'll continue to process this for a long time," Stenberg continued.

The actor ended the message urging others to vote and be their own agents of change moving forward. "Maybe the last thing I want to say on the subject is that we all exist in the context of all in which we live (laughs). But I'm serious. it's not lost on me how the way that these events have unfolded is also due to the hyper divisiveness of the time that we live in. That is driven, I would say at this point, by echo chambers of thought and algorithms that reinforce our biases. And I think that applies to everybody, but I think that in a particular sect of people, it manifests as a lot of fear for what is changing, a lot of hatred for anything that is other. And I would challenge us all and challenge myself to continue questioning what it is that I digest and think critically about what shapes it. And let's vote. Y'all, let's vote. Let's vote. I think that's all I have to say."

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