‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’s Jodie Turner-Smith Calls Out Disney For Not Protecting Cast & Denouncing Racism: “It’s Not Fair To Not Say Anything”

Armando Tinoco

8 October 2024 at 5:45 pm·2-min read

Jodie Turner-Smith is calling out Disney for not having a stronger response against the cyberbullying Star Wars: The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg faced.

In a new interview, Turner-Smith, who played Mother Aniseya in the Disney+ series, slammed the studio for not protecting Stenberg.

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Turner-Smith praised Stenberg, telling Glamour UK her co-star “put so much care and thought and love into” their character that she felt disappointed that the studio didn’t have their back when they faced backlash from Star Wars fans.

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

Turner-Smith continued, “It would just be nice if the people that have all the money were showing their support and putting their feet down. 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.”

The British star who is also cast in Disney’s Tron: Ares film, is sure that making a statement against racism wouldn’t have a negative impact “because people of color, and especially Black people, make up a very large percentage of buying power. They might find that it’s actually more lucrative for them, but everyone’s using ‘woke’ like it’s a dirty word.”

Stenberg had addressed the “intolerable racism” they faced, releasing a song to express their feelings.

“They spinning WOKE, bastardize it and appropriate it,” Stenberg sings. “Last I recall, WOKE was something we created. Speak truth to power. Keep an eye out for you silly racists and now they use it to describe anything they threatened by.”

After The Acolyte was canceled, Stenberg addressed the “rampage of vitriol” they “faced since the show was announced” and the series “was still just a concept and no one had even seen it.”

Stenberg described the attacks as “hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language,” adding, “And this really affected me when I first got the job. Even though I anticipated it happening, it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you.”

“However, I feel like I’ve kinda moved through those feelings in various ways, including being vocal about it myself. For me, it just became a situation where there was no option but for me to honor my sense of ethics and my belief system and my value system while being in this very unique position,” Stenberg continued.

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