Star Wars actor John Boyega has become one of the most outspoken figures in the entertainment industry in recent years, especially when it comes to issues of race and equality.
And for Boyega, this outspokenness is often deeply personal. Case in point: a recent interview with British GQ in which Boyega spoke very openly with the magazine about the ways he felt tokenized and brushed aside by certain figures involved with the production and marketing of the Star Wars films.
And White comedian Michael Rapaport—who seems to have a penchant for injecting his opinions into Black people's affairs on Twitter—for some reason had plenty to say to Boyega.
Specifically, that he should quit complaining.
@MichaelRapaport
And suffice to say, Rapaport's two cents were not appreciated.
In his GQ interview, Boyega spoke of his experiences during Star Wars of basically being used by Disney to attract Black audiences.
"...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."
Boyega also spoke candidly about how he and Asian actress Kelly Marie Tran were treated differently—both in the films and by Disney—than their White costars.
"Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver... but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know f**k all.
And Boyega specifically called out the expectation that he simply be grateful he was allowed to be a part of such a huge franchise.
"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."
Given that, one might wonder why on Earth Rapaport would go on Twitter and tell Boyega to be grateful, but as we've seen, he did.
And Boyega was quite simply not having any of it. He politely pushed back, asking Rapaport if he'd even read the article.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rapaport simply doubled down.
And this time when Rapaport told him to be grateful, Boyega's response was far more succinct.
And others on Twitter quickly lined up to tell Rapaport to mind his business.
And many people were just tired of Rapaport, period.
As the saying goes, shutting up is free.
Perhaps someone might let Rapaport know?
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