Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor took the unusual step of telling fans of the franchise that there is no room for racism in the far-away galaxy.
McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the latest Star Wars series of the same name on Disney +, used a video posted on Twitter to criticize fans who sent racist messages to his colleague, American actor Moses Ingram.
His defense of Ingram has attracted the attention of fans around the world and has been viewed a million times – but fans have also found parallels with previous abuses experienced by Star Wars cast members.
It all started on Instagram
Ingram, who plays the evil Inquisitor Reva Sevander, shared five direct-messaging screenshots sent to her on her Instagram stories that ranged from telling her, “You’re [sic] days are numbered “to call it” diversity rental “.
“It simply came to our notice then [messages]hundreds, “Ingram said in a series of instagram stories.
“I also see those of you who are putting on my raincoat, and that really means the world to me, because you know no one will do anything about it.
Ingram said she felt contradictory about sharing the tirades of offensive messages she received, but was not prepared to accept them as part of the norm when playing the character.
The thing that bothers me is that the feeling I had in me that no one told me, but the feeling like, ‘I have to shut up and take it,’ you know, ‘I just have to smile and hold on,’ and I’m not that built.
“So I really just wanted to come, I think, and thank the people who appear in my comments and in places I don’t intend to go.
An hour later, Star Wars appeared
The company behind Star Wars quickly condemned the racist news Ingram received by publishing it on its social media platforms.
“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and we are thrilled that Reva will unfold the story,” the statement said.
“If anyone intends to make her feel unwelcome, we can only say one thing: we resist.
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On Twitter and Instagram, thousands of fans praised Star Wars for expressing their support for Ingram.
“It’s a shame it has to be said at all these days, but thank you for standing up for her!” wrote one account.
“Moses Ingram doesn’t deserve such hatred. She could play the worst Star Wars character of all time, that’s never a reason for someone to call them racist insults,” another account wrote.
Sam Witwer, who has starred in several Star Wars movies, TV shows and video games, said the statement was correct.
“No company wants to create such a tweet, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said tweeted.
Obi-Wan himself then shared the message
However, the franchise’s support for Ingram did not end there – almost 19 hours later, Star Wars shared a video on Twitter entitled “Personal Message from Ewan McGregor”.
McGregor began by thanking Star Wars fans for making Obi-Wan Kenobi the most watched premiere of the original Disney + series of all time.
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“I’d say a big thank you for that, and it just shows what this family can do if we all pull together,” he said.
McGregor then turned to address the messages Ingram had received and condemned the “scariest, racist DMs” who “broke my heart.”
“Moses is a great actor, she’s a brilliant woman and she’s absolutely amazing in this series, she brings so much and so much into the franchise into the series and I just got upset when I heard it happened,” he said. he said.
“As the main actor in the series, as the executive producer of the series, I want to say that we stand with Moses, we love Moses, and if you send her bullying news, you are no Star Wars fans. mind.
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Star Wars was not always so loud
Although fans praised the company for supporting Ingram, some pointed out that past members of the actors had not been offered the same treatment when exposed to online abuse.
During an interview with GQ in 2020, John Boyega, who played Finn in the sequel to the trilogy The Force Awakens, The Last of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, expressed frustration that his experience with the franchise was based on his race.
“No one else in the cast had people who said they were going to boycott the film because [they were in it]”he said.
“No one else has been sent ups and death threats to their instagram DM and social media that said ‘Black this and black there and you shouldn’t be a Stormtrooper.’ No one else has had such an experience. “
Kelly Marie Tran, who played in The Last Jedi alongside Boyega, was also exposed to intense online trolling, which culminated in her deletion of her Instagram posts in 2018.
“It was basically that I thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t good for my mental health. I’ll probably let it go,'” she told the Hollywood Reporter in March.
Daisy Ridley was also abused when the franchise was introduced in 2015 before deleting her Instagram account a year later.
Ridley had previously vowed never to return (she went so far as to tell BuzzFeed that her use of social media had been “cut off like Skywalker’s limb”), but she began posting on Instagram earlier this year.
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