Fans are still upset about Disney canceling Star Wars: The Acolyte, while others who disliked the show are happy. Even though the show didn’t get many viewers compared to its huge budget, it has caused a lot of tension. This conflict isn’t just between fans, but also between the actors and the studio.
In a detailed interview with Glamour, Jodie Turner-Smith, who plays Mother Aniseya in The Acolyte, openly discussed the harassment faced by the cast, especially Amandla Stenberg. When she first met Stenberg, Turner-Smith shared how she was impressed by an essay Stenberg gave her, explaining her characters’ motivations and inner thoughts. This gesture stood out to her.
She put a lot of care, thought, and love into that, so it’s frustrating when it feels like the studio isn’t publicly supporting you.
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If she was only hinting at Disney’s lack of action before, she then made it very clear:
They need to stop staying silent when people are being attacked online with racism and other horrible things, It’s just not right to stay quiet. It’s unfair.
she said
It would be great if the people with all the money – like Disney or any big studio – stood up and showed their support, They should say, ‘This behavior is unacceptable. You’re not a real fan if you act this way.’ Make a strong statement and see if it affects their profits. I bet it won’t, because people of color, especially Black people, have a lot of buying power. They might even find it’s better for business, but everyone’s treating the word ‘woke’ like it’s something bad.
she said
This is the strongest comment from a cast member about the harassment the show’s actors faced. While it doesn’t explain why the show was canceled, it criticizes Disney for not offering enough support to its cast members who were being heavily targeted.
This interview follows a Variety article that discussed how some studios put actors through “social media bootcamp,” which might include taking control of their social media accounts or removing personal information to prevent doxing. It also talked about how studios now gather “superfan” focus groups to predict what might upset people in project marketing, which can sometimes lead to changes in the projects themselves.
See More: ‘The Acolyte’s Lee Jung-jae Says He “Was Quite Surprised” By The Series Cancellation
If you’re curious about Disney’s seemingly hands-off approach, here’s what one unnamed TV executive (not confirmed to be from Disney) said:
When the conversation turns negative and toxic, we don’t engage. Just like with toxic people, we try not to give it too much attention. Instead, we focus on responding to positive comments and highlighting those.
said the marketing executive
This leaves many actors, and their supporters, feeling like the studio isn’t on their side, leaving them to face online harassment alone. In the past, some actors have had to speak up for themselves when the studio wouldn’t, like Ewan McGregor standing up against the racist abuse of his Obi-Wan Kenobi co-star Moses Ingram, and now Jodie Turner-Smith doing the same for Amandla Stenberg.
This won’t bring back The Acolyte, but it highlights a bigger problem where most studios refuse to get involved. It’s an issue that isn’t going away, and it’s only been getting worse.
Source: Forbes