Moses Ingram, who plays Reva in Obi-Wan Kenobi, revealed a handful of the racist messages she's received in response to her role in the series.
Posting to her Instagram stories, Ingram shared screenshots of comments she's received that ranged from death threats to purely racist attacks. Following the string of screenshots, Ingram spoke candidly about the hate and admitted she isn't entirely sure why she's sharing the comments. "There's nothing anybody can do about this," Ingram said. "There's nothing anybody can do to stop this hate. I question my purpose in even being here in front of you, saying that this is happening. I don't really know."
"The thing that bothers me is this feeling inside of myself, that no one has told me, but this feeling that I have to shut up and take it, that I have to grin and bear it," the actor continued. "And I'm not built like that. So, I wanted to come on and say thank you to the people who show up for me in the comments and the places that I'm not going to put myself. And to the rest of y'all, y'all weird."
Star Wars responded to the racist responses with a message to its official Twitter and Facebook accounts. "We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist," it wrote, then added, "There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don't choose to be a racist."
Although the Star Wars franchise historically has included a fairly diverse cast, the actors often faced racism from fans. Both John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran, who appeared in the most recent trilogy, have frequently talked about the racist and toxic behavior they've faced from the Star Wars fanbase. Fans on Twitter recently came to Tran's defense after she received criticism for appearing at Star Wars Celebration 2022. Tran abandoned her Instagram account in 2018 after facing similarly racist remarks as Ingram.
Ingram previously talked about the racist toxicity prevalent in the fandom, saying Lucasfilm warned her about the sort of backlash she might face. "It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of, and said, 'This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens,'" Ingram said in an interview. She also noted that Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow assured her they'd prepared for it, ensuring Ingram would feel safe during production. "Of course, there are always pockets of hate," Ingram continued. "But I have no problem with the block button."
Source: Instagram
