'The Acolyte' Star Jodie Turner-Smith Calls Out Disney for Allegedly Turning Blind Eye to 'Racism' From Fans
Jodie Turner-Smith is putting Disney on blast over its silence when the cast of "The Acolyte" faced racist backlash.
The 38-year-old British actress, who played Mother Aniseya in the "Star Wars" series, recently spoke out about Disney's alleged lack of support for her co-star Amandla Stenberg as she faced racism and online harassment simply for being the project's leading star.
"It's disappointing to feel like your studio is not having your back in a very public-facing way," Turner-Smith told Glamour U.K. in an interview.
She then called on Disney to "stop doing this thing where they don't say anything" when the actors of their projects are getting "dog-piled on the internet with racism" and hate.
"It's just not fair to not say anything," she added. "It's really unfair."
After "The Acolyte" was canceled earlier this year, Stenberg said in a social media post that she was not shocked by the decision.
She said that since the show was announced, the cast had been inundated with "hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language" from toxic "Star Wars" fans who were apparently not happy about the series being led by actors of color.
According to Turner-Smith, Disney did not back Stenberg after she released her statement, and she believes this silence not only hurt the actors but also the company itself.
She told the magazine that she hoped Disney and other studios would put their feet down and tell fans that racism toward their stars is "unacceptable."
"Make a really big statement and just see if any money leaves," Turner-Smith said. "I bet you it won't, because people of color, and especially Black people, make up a very large percentage of buying power."
"They might find that it's actually more lucrative for them, but everyone's using 'woke' like it's a dirty word," she added.
Disney has not yet released a statement addressing Stenberg's or Turner-Smith's remarks.
This is not the first time actors in the "Star Wars" franchise have been targeted with racist comments.
John Boyega, who played Finn in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, previously opened up about facing racist abuse from fans and getting marginalized in scripts.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" star Moses Ingram also revealed in 2022 that she received threatening messages following her casting in the series.
At the time, Lucasfilm and her co-star Ewan McGregor released statements in support of her.