Amandla Stenberg isn’t too surprised that “The Acolyte” has come to an end on Disney+. The lead of the “Star Wars” series shared a statement on her Instagram story Wednesday reflecting on the “rampage of hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol” that they faced after being cast.
“I’m going to be transparent and say it’s not a huge shock for me,” Stenberg begins in the video. “There has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it. That’s when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language towards us.”
Though “The Acolyte” generally drew praise from critics, the series was review-bombed, meaning that a group of fans formed a digital protest and posted negative reviews en masse. This practice often impacts productions that include actors of color and LGBTQ characters. The 2017 “Star Wars” film “The Last Jedi” also faced an extreme backlash from online fans upon its release.
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“This really affected me when I first got the job. Because it’s just not something — even though I anticipated it happening — it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you,” Stenberg said. “However, I feel like I’ve kind of moved through those feelings in various ways, including being vocal about it myself. … It just became inarguable for me, at a certain point, that in order to continue to be myself, I would have to honor my value system by being vocal even in the context of working for Disney.”
“It has been an incredible honor and dream for me to be in this universe,” they added. “Of course, I’m very sad about the show being canceled. … I just want to let those people know out there who supported us in that way, and supported us vocally — despite and in the face of all of the vitriol that we received and the kind of the targeted attack, I would say, we received by the alt-right — just that you were deeply loved and appreciated. And it made this job all the worthwhile for me.”
“The Acolyte” aired its season finale in July. The Disney+ series was reported to be coming to an end in August, with Lucasfilm electing against continuing with more episodes of the prequel that followed the rise of the Sith, roughly 100 years before the events of “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.” In the series, Stenberg played separated twins Osha and Mae. Though the Season 1 finale concluded with a cliffhanger and lingering plotlines, the divided reception among fans and declining viewership numbers did not seem to imply a second season was a guaranteed prospect.