During a Caribbean celebration in London last week, The Last Jedi star John Boyega was filmed “grinding” with a female participant in the festivities, causing Star Wars fans to become outraged at the way the actor seemingly demeaned women in public, according to The Hollywood Reporter. One Twitter user posted the footage with the comment, “It’s not funny. Can you imagine strong females like Padme, Leia or Rey in a similar situation? I can’t,” causing Boyega himself to reply, “Yep! Rey would back it up!!!!! Wooooooiiiiiii!”
While the video could be interpreted as a much more lascivious act to those unfamiliar with the festivities, it’s actually a type of dancing known as “wining,” which can be traced back to the 18th-century “Jamette carnivals” of Trinidad and Tobago.
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The tweet, which was posted by user BaymaxSix, received nearly 100 replies in addition to Boyega’s, with some agreeing that the act could be perceived as demeaning, while the resounding majority pointed out the cultural insensitivity of reducing a traditional dance to a sexual act.
“John is free to have fun any way he wants,” user BaymaxSix expressed to THR. “But he is a public character, and in my opinion should take care of what puts in his social networks. I think he has to preserve the legacy of the most important film saga ever. When I saw the images, I thought of the millions of children that follow John and how they would interpret those images.”
Conversely, Star Wars fan and writer Shana O’Neil, explained, “Boyega’s a confident, sexy man who was out there dancing with a willing participant.” She added, “And he’s also a human being. Which I think is really important.”
The original film introduced audiences to the strong, intelligent, and capable heroine Princess Leia, who quickly became a role model to women who never saw powerful female figures in the realm of science fiction. Six years later, Return of the Jedi showed Leia in a bikini as a slave to Jabba the Hutt, causing an uproar over female objectification.
Female representation has been a tricky issue with Lucasfilm over the last few years, taking steps forward by canceling any plans to feature a bikini-clad Leia in future merchandise while also disappointing fans with a lack of Rey toys for the release of The Force Awakens, spawning the #WheresRey hashtag on social media.
Neither Boyega nor Lucasfilm gave an official response to the social media encounter.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in U.S. theaters on December 15.
