There has been widespread condemnation across the fandom after Obi-Wan Kenobi actress Moses Ingram exposed the disgusting level of racism she has been subjected to since becoming part of the franchise.
Lucasfilm through the official Star Wars social media have also called out the racism the actress has been subjected to.
Ingram has been victim to the most abhorrent messages, and she chose to share a few of those messages on her instagram stories so that everyone can see the experience she has faced. Messages that she has received in the hundreds.
As Ingram herself acknowledged in a video message to fans, that “there is nothing anybody can do about this. There is nothing anybody can do to stop this hate.”
However what we can do as a fandom is call this out, condemn it, and make our fandom a hostile place to these viewpoints and behaviours. That in itself is tiring and repetitive process, it is undoubtedly frustrating and can feel futile – but we can never give up.
I have no interest in your thoughts on an actors character, storyline or performance in defending a position of hate. They are creators doing their job, and no one deserves that treatment. There is no interest in comparisons to other actors or events in months and years gone by. This is not a time for ‘whataboutery’. If you feel the need to defend an actress receiving such treatment then feel free to unlike, unfollow and unsubscribe. This behaviour should receive unequivocal condemnation from all of us.
Over the past week we have held Star Wars Celebration, where fans across the world united to celebrate our love of Star Wars. Creators of Star Wars joined us in that Celebration. Many of them became emotional about the connection they made with fans, and the love that they felt. That connection is what will bring them back. That is the experience that our fandom should provide. That is what attracts the greatest writers, producers, and actors to be part of our franchise.
Each of us will have different life experiences, we will have different genders, religions, we will be of differing ethnicity and cultural heritages, and we will differ in every other measure we use to differentiate ourselves. What we all have in common is Star Wars. If we inject into Star Wars the things that make us different, then Star Wars becomes ever the more the thing that unites us.
This situation is not unique. Too many talent to feature in Star Wars have had the same experience. Star Wars isn’t unique to this problem either. Every franchise faces this issue, as every country in the world and every society has these same issues manifesting in different ways.
As Ingram said, we may not be able to stop it. Our world is imperfect. But we can make it clear if you hold those views, you are not welcome. And we can be damn sure to embrace every talent that enters our fandom regardless of whatever characteristic makes them different from us.
Let’s continue to fight for the world we want to live in, and a fandom that we can be proud of, and meet again next year in London for Star Wars Celebration once more.
