The racist backlash to his initial casting, and the persistent undercurrent of racism that marked his time starring as Finn – formerly First Order Stormtrooper FN-2187 – left an indelible mark on John Boyega, to the extent that he very publicly spoke about his negative experiences, something that saw a backlash against him. Speaking at the premiere of Number One on the Call Sheet in Los Angeles, he looked back to that time and why he felt compelled to speak out.
“I just didn’t like it, It just went against my point of view. I thought that, in my position, it’s great for people to know how we are related to this. As much as I’m in this position, I still have family friends who are in the real world; [not] in this Hollywood bubble. They get affected by these issues. So to not speak up about it, in my position, that made no real sense to me.”
