British actor Jodie Turner-Smith has had enough of Disney staying silent regarding the racist backlash leveled at projects led by people of color.
Smith starred as Mother Aniseya, a leader of a coven of space witches, in the Disney+ series The Acolyte. The sci-fi show is part of the Star Wars franchise that takes place at the end of the High Republic era long before the events of the Skywalker Saga and it follows a Jedi Master investigating a series of crimes.
The show, created by Leslye Headland, was unceremoniously canceled after one season due to alleged low ratings.
The diverse cast led by Amandla Stenberg included Smith, Manny Jacinto, Lee Jung-jae, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, and many others.
When the show's casting was announced in 2020, Stenberg, who is Black, was targeted along with her castmates by racist trolls who touted themselves as part of the Star Wars fandom and couldn't handle a person of color in a leading role.
Smith, who was born to Jamaican parents, opened up about the cancellation of The Acolyte and how its casting reception was filled with a “rampage of hyper-conservative bigotry, vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language."
Actors of color being cast in Star Wars projects have historically been victims of racist attacks, including British actor John Boyega, whose parents are of Yoruba descent. Boyega dealt with and spoke of his experience with racism starring in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films.
Smith slammed Disney for their lack of response during The Acolyte's critical reception in a recent interview with Glamour magazine, saying:
“[Stenberg] put so much care and thought and love into that, and it’s disappointing to feel like your studio is not having your back in a very public-facing way."
“They’ve got to stop doing this thing where they don’t say anything when people are getting f'king dog-piled on the internet with racism and bullsh*t."
She 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 colour, 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.”
Smith, herself, faced online racist attacks for playing Anne Boleyn in the eponymous AMC+ limited series in 2021.
Some bigoted viewers refused to accept the fact that a person of color would play historical royalty before the show was released.
Although the show and Smith's performance received critical acclaim after Anne Boleyn was released, it had been mercilessly review-bombed on several online community forums.
Smith remains hopeful that perceptions will eventually shift.
She added:
“Opinions change. What’s in vogue changes. We’re gonna get there at some point, to that place where people stop having a stick up their arse about people of colour being a part of IPs that were created by white people."
"You know why? Because we’re never going to f'king stop participating.”
