Jodie Turner-Smith calls out Disney for ignoring racism and online bullying of its actors

Jodie Turner-Smith calls out Disney for ignoring racism and online bullying of its actors

“It’s just not fair to not say anything. It’s really unfair,” said Turner-Smith of the studio ignoring racism "The Acolyte" costar Amandla Stenberg received.

Jodie Turner-Smith believes that the Force could be much stronger with Disney, especially when it comes to support of her The Acolyte costar Amandla Stenberg.

The actress, who starred on the Star Wars series as coven leader Mother Aniseya, cast shade over Disney for not having Stenberg's back in "a very public-facing way" in the wake of the racist backlash surrounding their casting in a new Glamour UK profile, stating that her young costar "put so much care and thought and love" into the show.

“They’ve got to stop doing this thing where they don’t say anything when people are getting f---ing dog-piled on the internet with racism and bullshit,” Turner-Smith said of the studio. “It’s just not fair to not say anything. It’s really unfair.”

Related: The Acolyte creator and star explain witches flashback episode

“It would just be nice if the people that have all the money were showing their support and putting their feet down,” she added. "Say this is unacceptable: ‘You’re not a fan if you do this.’ Make a really big statement and just see if any money leaves."

<p>Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty </p> Amandla Stenberg and Jodie Turner-Smith at the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Acolyte'

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Amandla Stenberg and Jodie Turner-Smith at the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Acolyte'

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Turner-Smith is confident it won't, "because people of color, and especially Black people, make up a very large percentage of buying power," she said. "They might find that it’s actually more lucrative for them, but everyone’s using ‘woke’ like it’s a dirty word.”

Disney didn't immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment.

From Leslye Headland, The Acolyte saw Stenberg pull double duty as twin sisters Osha and Mae, who are sent down different paths after the Jedi stumble upon their village as children. Also starring Lee Jung-jae as Jedi Master Sol, Manny Jacinto as Qimir, and Charlie Barnett as Yord Fandar, the recently-canceled series was the most inclusive and diverse live-action Star Wars project to date.

"You see the progress that Star Wars is making across the board in all of the streaming series," Stenberg, who identifies as non-binary and uses she/they pronouns, said on EW's Star Wars, podcast, Dagobah Dispatch last year. "When it comes to the world of fantasy and sci-fi in general, it hasn't felt like a safe space always for people of color. And it's been a world that I've always deeply loved and been invested in. So to be in any way, shape, or form a part of the wave that is ushering in inclusion and safety for Black nerds, it's my dream come true."

<p>Disney+</p> Amandla Stenberg on 'The Acolyte'

Disney+

Amandla Stenberg on 'The Acolyte'

Related: Lee Jung-jae reacts to The Acolyte cancellation: 'I was quite surprised'

The franchise, though, has become notorious for its toxic fandom. John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, and Moses Ingram are among the franchise stars who've spoken publicly about the racist harassment they've received from fans outraged over the inclusion of actors of color in the sci-fi fantasy. Disney addressed the harassment against Ingram in 2022, writing "there are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy," so "don’t choose to be a racist," but much has been said about how the studio should do more to protect its stars.

The Acolyte was axed over the summer after just one season — a move that didn't surprise Stenberg, they said on social media. "We started experiencing a rampage of, I would say hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred, and hateful language towards us," Stenberg said. "This really affected me when I first got the job, because even though I anticipated it happening, it's not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it happens to you."

Despite Turner-Smith's frustrations, she told Glamour that she is hopeful that the tides will change. “Opinions change. What’s in vogue changes," she said. "We’re gonna get there at some point, to that place where people stop having a stick up their arse about people of color being a part of IPs that were created by white people. You know why? Because we’re never going to f---ing stop participating.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.