Star Wars is about diversity. It’s hard to believe that would be a surprise to anyone who has watched the 11 live-action feature films and multiple TV series dealing with a patchwork group of rebels seeking freedom from a xenophobic empire that stomps out all differences. From the moment Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi set foot in the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope and were greeted by a multitude of creatures of various sizes, shapes, skin colors, and more, it was apparent that diversity was the norm in the Star Wars galaxy.
And yet, somehow racists fail to understand such simple principles of the story and direct their hate at members of the cast. Most recently, Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram was the recipient of vile language directed toward both her and her character, Inquisitor Reva, also known as the Third Sister.
A clearly frustrated Ingram took to Instagram to express her thoughts on the situation, telling viewers, “There are hundreds of those [hate messages], hundreds… There’s nothing anybody can do about this, there’s nothing anybody can do to stop this hate.” Ingram admits, “I question my purposes in even being here in front of you, saying that this is happening.” After a long pause, she continues, “I don’t really know… I don’t really know.”
Despite the franchise’s overt message of tolerance, Ingram is hardly the first person of color to be attacked by racists for their role in Star Wars. Some fans flooded the internet with hatred from just a glimpse of John Boyega’s Finn in the trailer for The Force Awakens. Boyega’s co-star in The Last Jedi, Kelly Marie Tran, was hassled so much that she deleted her social media accounts. Before them, Ahmed Best was nearly driven to suicide after he was targeted for his performance as Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace.
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue8KroKadX6HCrLGMoaalnJWjeqq6xquYpmWdqr%2BlsdGem2ackafEqrqMoqWgqpGieqWxz66rop2jZA%3D%3D