Star Wars actor Amandla Stenberg has spoken out for the first time since it was confirmed that spin-off TV series The Acolyte would not be getting a second season.
Amandla played the twins Osha and Mae Aniseya in the Disney+ original, alongside a cast that included Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae and The Good Place’s Manny Jacincto.
While the show was generally well-received by fans and reviewers, it reportedly pulled in lower viewing figures than some other Star Wars shows, and was the subject of “review bombing” from seemingly right-wing critics who took issue with its diverse cast.
Following reports last week that The Acolyte was not getting a second season, Amandla shared a lengthy video across her Instagram story explaining their thoughts on Wednesday night.
The former Hunger Games star began by saying it was “not a huge shock” to hear the show was not returning.
“For those who aren’t aware, there’s been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept, and nobody had seen it,” they explained.
“That’s then we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language towards us.”
Amandla went on to say this “really affected me when I first got the job”, even though they did “anticipate it happening”, as it’s “not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you”.
“However, I feel like I have kind of moved through those feelings, in various ways,” they explained.
“I had this very unique experience of experiencing the world at large, which is, of course, hyper-divisive right now, through the lens of this very unique opportunity of being in Star Wars,” Amandla said elsewhere in the eight-minute video.
“It brought up a lot for me – a lot of sociopolitical dynamics, a lot about my own value system and how I respond to that kind of hatred, how I move through the world at large.
“And it just became inarguable for me, at a certain point, that in order to continue to be myself, I’d have to honour my value system by being vocal, even within the context of working for Disney and working within the large massive IP that is Star Wars.”
Even though Amandla said they feel “very sad about the show being cancelled”, they noted it had been “an honour” to be part of the Star Wars universe, particularly as someone who is a sci-fi fan, and praised fans of The Acolyte who did voice their support for the show.
“It’s not lost on me, how the way that these events have unfolded is also due to the hyper-divisiveness of the time that we live in,” Amandla conclude. “That is driven, I would say at this point, by echo chambers of thought, and algorithms that reinforce our biases. And I think that applies to everybody.
“And I think that in a particular sect of people, it manifests as a lot of fear for what is changing, a lot of hatred for anything that is ‘other’. And I would challenge us all, and challenge myself, to continue questioning what it is that I digest and think critically about what shapes it.”
Prior to The Acolyte’s cancellation, Amandla told British GQ: “There’s a really vast array of Star Wars fans. There is a specific kind of Star Wars fan that’s very vocal on the internet. They’ve called our show The Woke-alyte a fair amount – which I’m like, ‘OK, what about it?’”
“Prejudice, on some level, of course, it affects me,” they added. “Even if it’s subconsciously or in the body, and there’s work that I need to do around that in order to protect myself.
“But in my conscious mind, it doesn’t bother me, because I think it’s stupid and kind of funny.”
Fans of The Acolyte have also spoken out against Disney’s decision, with many accusing the company of “pandering to a “bunch of babies” and the “worst, smallest, loudest part” of the Star Wars fanbase.
Read a full transcript of Amandla’s comments below:
“I thought I would get on here and just speak candidly. I hate doing this! But I’m going to do it.
“I honestly don’t use social media very much anymore, and I’m so happy about that. But there are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge, and I want to show appreciation and love and support for, so that’s why I’m hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our show, our Star Wars show, has been cancelled.
“And I’m going to be transparent and say that it’s not a huge shock for me. Of course, I live in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren’t aware, there’s been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept, and nobody had seen it. That’s then we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language towards us.
“And, you know, this really affected me when I first got the job, because it’s just not something – even though I anticipated it happening – you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you. However, I feel like I have kind of moved through those feelings, in various ways, including being vocal about it myself. For me, it just became such an issue where there was no option but for me to honour my sense of ethics, and my belief system, and my value system, while being in this very unique position.
“It was kind of like, I had this very unique experience of experiencing the world at large, which is, of course, hyper-divisive right now, through the lens of this very unique opportunity of being in Star Wars. And it brought up a lot for me – a lot of sociopolitical dynamics, a lot about my own value system and how I respond to that kind of hatred, how I move through the world at large, and it just became inarguable for me, at a certain point, that in order to continue to be myself, I’d have to honour my value system by being vocal even within the context of working for Disney and working within the large massive IP that is Star Wars.
“On that topic, I just have to say, it has been an incredible honour and dream for me to be in this universe. It still feels, even though, of course, I’m very sad about the show being cancelled, and I’m sad about us not being able to give people who are invested into it more, because […] just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it, and that people loved it and that people were so responsive. I poured through a lot of different iterations of fan art and ship art and fan theories and things that were just so beautiful and filled my heart with joy.
“And 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 targeted attack, I would say, that we received by the alt-right, just that you are deeply loved and appreciated and it made this job all the more worthwhile for me, and it made all of the challenging elements of it completely worthwhile for me. And so, that plus my love of sci-fi and fantasy, and being able to be a part of the legacy of something that I so deeply value and something that means so much to me and I looked up to for so long.
“I also just want to say thank you to LucasFilm, for just being a fucking awesome team. They were so wonderful to work with, everybody that I worked with in LucasFilm, particularly Rayne Roberts, my producer, had such vision and hope and such a mission for what we were going to be bringing into the sci-fi universe and to the Star Wars universe, and it was a really beautiful, energising, life-changing experience to be a part of.
“And I have to thank Leslye Headland, who just… I fucking love that bitch. She’s my friend! She’s just one of the best people in the world, she’s so incredibly talented and unique and kind, and I’ll love her forever. And I will love this experience with her forever.
“But at the end of the day, I also just want to thank everybody who watched it, thank you for being so loving and supportive and excited and nerdy and awesome and… I’ll continue to process this for a long time. But maybe the last thing I want to say on the subject is that we all exist in the context of all in which we live…
“But I’m serious. It’s not lost on me, how the way that these events have unfolded is also due to the hyper-divisiveness of the time that we live in, that is driven, I would say at this point, by echo chambers of thought, and algorithms that reinforce our biases. And I think that applies to everybody. And I think that in a particular sect of people, it manifests as a lot of fear for what is changing, a lot of hatred for anything that is other, and I would challenge us all, and challenge myself, to continue questioning what it is that I digest and think critically about what shapes it.
“And let’s vote, y’all. Let’s vote. I think that’s all I have to say.”