Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy Says Women In ‘Star Wars’ Get Harassed More Because Of ‘Male Dominated’ Fanbase
Courtesy of Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock.
Disney/Star War’s latest show ‘The Acolyte’ has been been subject to horrid fan responses since its Disney+ release on June 4.
It should be stated that some fan responses took issue with the creative direction of the show itself, while others have delivered racist remarks to the show’s lead Amandla Stenberg, who recently released a “diss track” in response to backlash and racist abuse, captioning: “to those who are flooding me with intolerable racism — since it took me 72 hours on my laptop to make this song and video, u got 72 hours to respond.”
Courtesy of Lucasfilm.
Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy has admitted that the women in the Star Wars franchise suffer a plethora of attacks “because of the fan base being so male dominated.”
Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran both left their social media platforms after receiving online abuse from ‘fans’ who were upset by their characters in the sequel trilogy of Star Wars films. Since then, Ridley has returned to Instagram, and is tapped for another Star Wars instalment returning as Rey Skywalker.
Some fans are referring to ‘The Acolyte’ as ‘The Wokelyte’ for its diverse cast, and female lead show.
“Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s terrifying,” Kennedy said, in an interview with The New York Times. “I think Leslye [Headland] has struggled a little bit with it. I think a lot of the women who step into Star Wars struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male-dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal. My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people. That’s an easy decision for me.”
Leslye Headland is showrunner of ‘The Acolyte,’ and becomes the first woman to serve as showrunner in a Star Wars series.
“As a fan myself, I know how frustrating some Star Wars storytelling in the past has been. I’ve felt it myself,” Headland said, addressing the abuse she’s received. “I stand by my empathy for Star Wars fans. But I want to be clear. Anyone who engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech, I don’t consider a fan.”
The abuse sways in both directions as John Boyega, who played Finn in all three sequel Star Wars movies, urged studios to take a larger role in defending their stars from online abuse and harassment — after he and Tran received racial harassment.
“When one of your actors, especially an actor that’s so prominent in the story, is announced as part of your franchise and then has a big racial backlash and receives abuse online, it is important for the studios to definitely lend their voice, lend their support to that, and to have a sense of solidarity not just in the public eye, but on the ground on set,” Boyega said.
Watch a clip from ‘The Acolyte’ below:
