Star Wars: The Acolyte Star Slams "Unacceptable" Response to Show: "You're Not a Fan If You Do This"

Jodie Turner-Smith has slammed Disney for its response to the reception of Star Wars: The Acolyte.

By Tyler Fischer

Earlier this year, Star Wars: The Acolyte proved to be a costly fumble for Disney after it spent a whopping $230 million on the Disney+ show only for it quickly to be cancelled due to insufficient viewership. More than this, the show proved quite contentious with a number of fans, which no doubt played a role in its low viewership. From its reveal, to its release, to its cancellation, controversy has followed the Star Wars show,  and those that worked on it are starting to open up about the saga.

To this end, British actress Jodie Turner-Smith -- who plays Mother Aniseya across three episodes of the show -- recently shared some words specifically about the reception to the show, or at least some of the reception to the show. Citing this, the actress pointed to the "racism and bulls**t" and "dogpiling" people a part of the show experienced in the wake of it. She also took umbrage with Disney for not "putting their feet down."

"They've got to stop doing this thing where they don't say anything when people are getting f*****g dog-piled on the internet with racism and bulls**t," said the actress about the show's reception while speaking with Glamour. "It's just not fair to not say anything. It's really unfair."

The actress 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. I bet you it won't, 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."

The actress noted she is hopeful things will change in the future, noting "opinions change." To this end, Turner-Smith says "were gonna get there at some point, to that place where people stop having a stick up their arse about people of color being a part of IPs that were created by white people.' 

Related:

"We don't get to fail upwards like a lot of white men," adds the actress. "I just feel that some people are allowed to grow and others have to be perfect, and if they're not perfect – even when it's great – people want to f*****g tear it apart."

Of course, Star Wars: The Acolyte isn't the only recenty Star Wars product to underwhelm. The latest Star Wars video game release, Star Wars: Outlaws, has also failed to meet commercial expectations. And much like The Acolyte, it was engulfed in the ongoing culture war that continues to dominate the discourse around entertainment. 

Trending Now: