Star Wars Supports New Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Moses Ingram
The first two episodes of the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi were released where Moses Ingram made her debut as Reva Sevander starring opposite Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and more. The series is directed by Deborah Chow for Lucasfilms. With the release of the series, Ingram revealed she has received racist abuse via online comments and direct messages.
Ingram posted multiple examples of the messages she received on her Instagram story which included the N-word. This type of rhetoric is not new to films and series with an inclusive cast and has become an ugly trend aimed at celebrities of color including stars such as singer Normani and actress Leslie Jones.
Star Wars stood up for her and condemned the racist trolls who have been abusing her by “If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.” They added on by tweeting, “There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a 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
Ewan McGregor, who stars as the title character on the series as well as the executive producer, shared a personal message that he was “sickened” by the attacks that Ingram has received. In the video on the Star Wars account, he stated, “Moses is a brilliant actor, she’s a brilliant woman, and she’s absolutely amazing in this series…And it just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening.”
“If you are sending her bullying messages, you are no Star Wars fan in my mind. There is no space for racism in this world”, he added.
A personal message from Ewan McGregor. pic.twitter.com/rJSDmj663K
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 1, 2022
Ingram wasn’t the only Star Wars actor to experience racism. John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran faced prejudice when they starred in the most recent Star Wars Trilogy.
Moses Ingram aka Reva on Instagram after getting hundred racism/hate in messages and thanking the people for having her back Obi wan show #ObiWan #Reva pic.twitter.com/epG6h9XQvV
— Marvel/DC (@soapw1) May 31, 2022
“There’s nothing anybody can do about this,” Ingram stated in a video on Instagram. “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.”
Moses Ingram on preparing for racist backlash surrounding her #ObiWanKenobi casting: “They’ve been really great about connecting me with people who’ve been through this. I haven’t necessarily reached out. It’s weird.” https://t.co/krIcPEs5tx pic.twitter.com/CGjDzx5SMK
— Variety (@Variety) May 26, 2022
She added, “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.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi will stream every Wednesday on Disney+ until June 29.
