Amandla Stenberg has been facing racist backlash since she was announced as a cast of Star Wars: The Acolyte. But long before she became the target, Ahmed Best, along with other Asian and Black actors in the franchise—Moses Ingram, John Boyega, and Kelly Marie Tran—suffered the same. As Stenberg finally breaks her silence on The Acolyte cancellation, Best shows his support for the actress.
Best played Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian. In addition to the issues of racism he faced, he also experienced harassment from fans for playing a main character created by motion capture technology. Hence, he’s not new to the hate that the franchise stars experience and stands in “solidarity” with Stenberg.
“I will always stand in solidarity for artists who give 110% to their work and art,” he captioned his Instagram post featuring the character poster of Stenberg as her The Acolyte characters Osha and Mae. “Keep shining, queen.”
Though Stenberg admitted she doesn’t use social media “very much anymore,” she responded to Best’s post to show her gratitude. “Awwww for love and light,” she commented.
Best has been openly addressing the Star Wars Jar Jar Binks backlash. The severity of the negative feedback and the harassment he experienced led him to decide to take a break from work. Hence, it’s no surprise that he shares his support for Stenberg.
Earlier, Boyega also expressed his support for The Acolyte star. Amid the flood of toxic comments haters left on her latest Instagram post, the actor gave her a salute by using a GIF image of Han Solo (Harrison Ford).
Amandla Stenberg Addresses Star Wars: The Acolyte Cancellation
Over a week after The Acolyte cancellation, Stenberg finally addressed the issue on her Instagram Stories. Though the 25-year-old seemingly wanted to keep her silence, she felt the need to speak out to acknowledge and show appreciation for the love and support she had continuously received amid the hate.
“And I’m gonna say, I’m really transparent, and say that it’s not a huge shock for me,” she said. “For those who aren't aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced … That's when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language towards us.”
Stenberg admitted that she couldn’t help but be affected by the backlash despite anticipating it to happen. But despite that, it was still an incredible honor and a dream come true for her to be part of the galaxy far, far away. While she was sad that the show was canceled and they would no longer be able to give more to the fans who were invested in it, she was still happy for the experience and the people’s love for the series.
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.
She thanked Lucasfilm, everyone she had worked with, the fans, and The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland for the life-changing experience. Stenberg believed the backlash came from a particular sect of people who feared change. So, despite everything she had gone through, she would question what she had experienced and think critically about what shaped it.
“And let's vote. Y'all, let's vote. Let's vote. I think that's all I have to say,” she ended her statement.
Although The Acolyte was said to be canceled due to the low viewership, many couldn’t help but think that the backlash also contributed to the cancellation. Despite this, many have expressed their support for the series and its star, with actors and fans alike rallying behind them.
All episodes of The Acolyte are available on Disney+.
