The entire situation surrounding the decision to not pick up The Acolyte for further seasons will no doubt be discussed and dissected for many years, delving in to the reasons why this bold new era wasn’t continued in live action. Mother Aniseya actress Jodie-Turner-Smith spoke with Glamour magazine and strongly voiced her disappointment and concern at the lack of support she feels the shows diverse cast and fellow GFFA alumni got from Disney in the face of online abuse.
The show was unceremoniously cancelled, allegedly due to low ratings – but in the weeks leading up to its season finale, the cast faced relentless torrents of racist abuse online from so-called fans who couldn’t handle a Black actor leading a Star Wars series. In a video posted to her Instagram story, Amandla addressed the cancellation, noting that since the show was announced in 2020, she and the cast have experienced a “rampage of hyper-conservative bigotry, vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language”. It’s an infuriating cycle: actors of colour are cast in Star Wars projects and are immediately made vulnerable to vicious bigotry. (John Boyega in particular has been outspoken about his experience with racism while part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.)
“They’ve got to stop doing this thing where they don’t say anything when people are getting f****** dog-piled on the internet with racism and bulls***,” Jodie says of Disney’s lack of response to The Acolyte’s reception. “It’s just not fair to not say anything. It’s really unfair.”
“It would just be nice if the people that have all the money” – whether that be Disney or any studio – “were showing their support and putting their feet down,” she proposes. “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. 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.”
She’s hopeful that the tide will shift one day: “Opinions change. What’s in vogue changes. We’re gonna get there at some point, to that place where people stop having a stick up their arse about people of colour being a part of IPs that were created by white people. You know why?” she asks. “Because we’re never going to f****** stop participating.”
- Hardcover Book
- Ireland, Justina (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 304 Pages - 05/06/2025 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
