Last week was a big deal for Star Wars fans. The long-awaited premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi would have made for enough excitement, but we also had Star Wars Celebration running and a ton of major announcements were made. Have we all recovered yet?
In case you missed it, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was announced and the first trailer for Star Wars: Andor was also released. We now know when The Mandalorian will return for its third season, and it was revealed that Liam Neeson will return as the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. It’s a shame, then, that amidst the excitement there was a sour undertone as some Star Wars ‘fans’ opted to send Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Moses Ingram racist messages, and Ewan McGregor isn’t standing for it.
In case you missed it, check out the trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor below.
In a video posted to the official Star Wars Twitter account, Obi-Wan actor Ewan McGregor criticised toxic fans for their treatment of Ingram who plays the series’ villain Reva. He reminded fans that “there’s no place for racism in this world,” adding that those who did send racist messages were “no Star Wars fan in my mind.”
McGregor said, “This weekend, Star Wars fans made Obi-Wan Kenobi the most-watched Disney Plus series premiere of all time and for that, I would say a big thank you. It just goes to show what this family can do when we all pull together. However, it seems that some of the fanbase, this influential fanbase, have decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most racist horrendous DMs. I heard some of them this morning and it just broke my heart.”
He went on, “Moses is a brilliant actor, a brilliant woman, and she’s absolutely amazing in this series. She brings so much to the series. She brings so much to the franchise and it sickened me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening. I just want to say as the leading actor on the series, as an executive producer on the series, we stand with Moses. We love Moses and if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind. There’s no place for racism in this world. I totally stand with Moses.”
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It’s not the first time that Star Wars has struggled with toxic backlash on social media. John Boyega (Finn) has candidly opened up about his experiences with racist messages from Star Wars fans, whilst Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) and Daisy Ridley (Rey Skywalker) have spoken about being the recipients of fan misogyny. In the past, it’s something Star Wars has swept under the rug so it’s certainly a step in the right direction to see the franchise stand up for its actors as McGregor is right: There is no place for racism.
Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film