Star Wars Celebration, held in Southern California recently, was very much that: A celebration of the Star Wars fandom, a gathering of passionate supporters of the galaxy’s stories, and a news dump regarding upcoming Star Wars projects. In the process, the first two episodes of the new Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi screened for critics and fans before it landed on the streaming service. And while reviews for the show were mixed to positive, far too much scorn was leveled at franchise newcomer Moses Ingram. She plays Sith Inquisitor Reva Sevander, and following the episodes, some fans bombarded her with racist and hateful messages on social media. First, the official Star Wars account came to Ingram’s support. And now it’s lead actor Ewan McGregor condemning this speech and standing up for his co-star.
Here’s Ewan McGregor’s Tweet, with a video message of condemnation and support:
A personal message from Ewan McGregor. pic.twitter.com/rJSDmj663KJune 1, 2022
It’s never OK to attack an actor because of a character that they play in a Star Wars television show. Full stop. Nothing about Star Wars is that important that you’d need to send a hateful message to an actor playing a villain in a new Disney+ series. It’s not constructive. It’s destructive.
And that’s how Moses Ingram has said she has felt following the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In an Instagram story posted to her official account, the actor shared DM’s sent to her that claimed her “days are numbered,” and that she “won’t be loved or remembered” for the part that she is playing in the show. As Moses Ingram admits that there were hundreds of hateful messages sent to her that were similar to that, she also informed her followers:
I also see those of you out there who put on a cape for me. And that really does mean the world to me. Because, you know, there’s nothing anybody can do about this. There’s nothing anybody can do to stop this hate. And so I question what my purpose is, and even being here in front of you, saying that this is happening. I don’t really know.
Sadly, Moses Ingram isn’t the first actor to receive harsh, incessant criticism for a role that they played in a Star Wars project. Hell, Obi-Wan Kenobi star Hayden Christensen, reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker, spent decades hearing from Star Wars fans how much they hated his acting in the Prequel Trilogy. The criticism basically forced him to quit acting. And then there’s Ahmed Best, the actor who played Jar Jar Binks for George Lucas and admitted years after the fact that the criticism from the fans continued to plague him, and affect his psyche. In 2018, Best even admitted that he contemplated suicide thanks to the backlash suffered from playing the role.
Thankfully, Ewan McGregor and some in the Star Wars community are standing up for Obi-Wan Kenobi co-star Moses Ingram, whose role in the show could end up being significant, given the fact that we’ve only seen two episodes out of six. Fandom can be quick to make rash judgments. But hate speech leveled at an actor playing a part in a fictional story is unacceptable, and it’s best that the powers that be at Star Wars nip this tragedy in the bud.
