BURBANK, CA: Star Wars is defending Moses Ingram, who plays the character of Reva Sevander in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, after the actress said she has been receiving racist messages on social media.
The Star Wars brand posted photos of Ingram on its Twitter, Instagram and Facebook channels on Tuesday, welcoming her to the franchise and telling people to stop being racist.
There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 31, 2022
Star Wars followed up those posts on Tuesday with a video of Ewan McGregor addressing the matter. In a video, McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi, said that the "horrendous, racist DMs" Ingram is receiving broke his heart.
"If you're sending her bullying messages, you're no Star Wars fan in my mind," said McGregor. "There is no place for racism in this world and I totally stand with Moses."
A personal message from Ewan McGregor. pic.twitter.com/rJSDmj663K
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 1, 2022
The response by Star Wars, which is owned by Disney, followed a series of Instagram Stories shared by Ingram on Monday night that showed she had received racist abuse on social media.
“There are hundreds of those. Hundreds,” she said in an accompanying video.
This is from her ig. You all need to chill pic.twitter.com/QXBcRsnVz1
— 6Nn 6Nn (@umnrab12) May 31, 2022
Ingram isn’t the only Star Wars actor who has experienced bullying. Kellie Marie Tran, who appeared in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, also received racist comments and quit social media due to abuse. She wrote a New York Times op-ed about the harassment she faced. John Boyega, who played Finn in the Star Wars series told British GQ that he faced death threats on social media after appearing in the movie.
On Sunday, Star Wars' tweeted about Star Wars Celebration Live!, announcing interviews with Tran and Billie Lourd, who both appeared in the sequel trilogy. Star Wars pushed back against one hateful comment on Twitter.
Respectfully, L + ratio.
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 29, 2022
However, some Twitter users are calling out Star Wars for staying silent when other stars experienced similar bullying on social media and even for shrinking Boyega on posters for the movie in China to please local audiences. Others praised the franchise for now taking a more active stance.
When Kelly Marie Tran was bullied in an ugly, racist way, Lucasfilm’s policy was to not get involved. Don’t add fuel to the fire etc. I’m furious that racist bullies continue in the fandom (& everywhere) but glad to see Lucasfilm take a more active stance. Ewan on Moses Ingram: pic.twitter.com/kcvFBluU87
— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) June 1, 2022
I wish that the people who made TROS had spoken out about the hate directed at Kelly Marie Tran at the time.
— Josh Spiegel (@mousterpiece) June 1, 2022
A Star Wars representative was not immediately available for comment.
