The new Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series had a reason to celebrate coming out of last weekend as it overtook The Mandalorian for the biggest debut ever on the streamer but star Ewan McGregor wanted to address another issue while celebrating the achievement and that is the recent racism his co-star Moses Ingram has received from Star Wars “fans.”
Moses Ingram made her debut as the Inquisitor Reva in Obi-Wan Kenobi and she revealed that she has received “hundreds” of racist messages that have been sent from toxic fans of the franchise. Since the series made its debut on May 27, Ingram says she has been sent racist messages that include the use of the N-word and that absolutely inappropriate assertion that she was simply a diversity hire. Here is what Ingram had to say via a video on her Instagram story:
“There’s nothing anybody can do about this. 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. 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.”
Ewan McGregor, who plays the titular character in the series, addressed the messages that Ingram has been getting from some of the toxic fans of the fanbase. While he thanked everyone for making the debut a success, he made it clear that he’s in support of his friend and co-star and if you’re the one spewing any of this hate towards Ingram, you are not a Star Wars fan in his mind:
“However, it seems that some of the fan base, from this influential fan base, have decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most horrendous, racist DMs and I heard some of them this morning, which just broke my heart. Moses is a brilliant actor, she’s a brilliant woman and she’s done absolutely amazing in this series. She brings so much to the series, she brings so much to the franchise, and it just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening. I just want to say as the leading actor in the series, as the executive producer on the series, that we stand with Moses, we love Moses, and if you’re sending her bullying messages you are no Star Wars fan in my mind. There’s no place for racism in this world and I totally stand with Moses.”
The sad thing is that previously during an interview with The Independent, Ingram revealed that before the series had even debuted, Lucasfilm executives actually warned her that she would likely face harassment online. This is something weirdly attached to this fanbase on occasion as other POC from the franchise like John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran, have also gotten their fair share of trolling and racist toxicity. At the time Ingram said, “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.”
The Star Wars family did show their support to Moses Ingram on Twitter with a post that read, “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’s unfortunate that they even have to do but it’s nice to see that the franchise has her back. They even added in a follow-up tweet, “There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, so people shouldn’t choose to be racist.”
What are YOUR thoughts on the racist messages that Moses Ingram has been receiving?