In the years since John Boyega wrapped up his time in the galaxy far, far away, the actor has been vocal about how Lucasfilm and Disney failed to support him and other Star Wars actors, not only in regards to their on-screen endeavors, but also in regards to the harassment they faced from toxic fans. Since becoming so vocal, Boyega has shared that he has since had meetings with figures at Lucasfilm and recently confirmed that he feels the studio has grown much more supportive when it comes to sticking up for their actors who are subjected to harassment.
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When discussing the racism Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram faced with Men’s Health, Boyega shared, “I’m the one that brought this to the freaking forefront.” He continued, “At least the people going into it now, after my time, [they’re] cool … [Lucasfilm is] going to make sure you’re well supported and at least you [now] go through this franchise knowing that everybody is going to have [your] back. I’m glad I talked out everything at that time.”
Boyega was the first character in the sequel trilogy that audiences saw, as he first appeared in the teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2014, immediately sparking racism among toxic fans. As if that harassment wasn’t traumatic enough, he also felt like his character Finn was pushed to the wayside, especially after that first film in the sequel trilogy set him up to be a major figure in the ongoing story.
“It’s so difficult to maneuver,” Boyega shared with GQ UK back in 2020. “You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything. [But] what I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
He continued, “Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver … You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f-ck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”
In contrast, when Ingram faced racism from “fans,” both her Obi-Wan Kenobi costars and official Lucasfilm channels condemned the behavior.
