THE ACOLYTE: Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Says He "[Stands] In Solidarity" With Amandla Stenberg

THE ACOLYTE: Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Says He "[Stands] In Solidarity" With Amandla Stenberg

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and The Mandalorian star Ahmed Best has shared his support for The Acolyte's Amandla Stenberg as she continues to face abuse for her role in the cancelled Disney+ series.

By JoshWilding - Aug 30, 2024 08:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: SFFGazette.com

Following what appeared to be a review-bombing campaign and a surprising level of negativity surrounding the series, The Acolyte was recently cancelled by Disney+ after a single season. Now, many Star Wars fans are left with a long list of unanswered questions about where the story was meant to go which are unlikely to ever be addressed.

Long before that, lead star Amandla Stenberg faced similar racist abuse to John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, and Moses Ingram after being cast. Earlier this week, she broke her silence on the decision and has now she's earned the support of fellow Star Wars actor Ahmed Best.

"I will always stand in solidarity for artists who give 110% to their work and art," the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace star said (via SFFGazette.com). "Keep shining queen [Amandla Stenberg]."

As for why the actor would choose to weigh in, it likely has something to do with his own experiences with Star Wars fans. The vitriol he faced for playing Jar Jar Binks in 1999 - including death threats - saw him contemplate suicide.

Asked recently if he thinks people knowing there was a man beneath the VFX would have changed anything, Best said, "I don’t think so. We are addicted to nostalgia. Anything that disrupts nostalgia is going to be faced with severe emotional backlash. Regardless of whether I was in makeup or in CGI, the nostalgia of Star Wars would have been broken and we would have had negative reactions."

That sounds awfully similar to what's happened with The Acolyte

Addressing the cancellation in a lengthy video this week, Stenberg shared, "There are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge and I want to show appreciation and love and support for, so that’s why I’m hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our Star Wars show has been canceled."

"And I’m gonna be transparent and say that it’s not a huge shock for me," she added. "Of course I live in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren’t aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it."

Stenberg later described the attacks as "hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language" directed at herself and The Acolyte's diverse cast.

You can see Best's post supporting the actor in the Instagram post below. 

In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems...

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

The entire first season of The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.

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kazuma
kazuma - 8/30/2024, 8:43 AM
Yes the show was peak star wars. Nothing has been or could ever be better. It's better than the creation of star wars itself. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Zero chance it was poorly written. I am 100% certain it will get multiple Oscars.


SATW42
SATW42 - 8/30/2024, 8:46 AM
@kazuma - The Oscar part is pretty amazing considering it's a tv show.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 8:55 AM
@kazuma - User Comment Image
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 8/30/2024, 9:14 AM
@clintthahamster - Might be the best reply to a troll I've seen in this site.
kazuma
kazuma - 8/30/2024, 10:09 AM
@clintthahamster - The show was bad and it doesn't matter if a subset of the fandom were racist pos. The majority of the star wars fandom didn't watch it and that's why it was cancelled.

Expensive show + low viewership = cancelled.

Or are you going to tell me that the majority of star wars fans are racist?
The1st
The1st - 8/30/2024, 10:30 AM
@clintthahamster - I'll take cognitive dissonance also for $500.

User Comment Image
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 10:53 AM
@kazuma - "Yes the show was peak star wars. Nothing has been or could ever be better. It's better than the creation of star wars itself. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Zero chance it was poorly written."

This is a straw man argument. None of the show's defenders believe anything like this.
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 8/30/2024, 11:31 AM
@SATW42 - that’s how good it was.
kazuma
kazuma - 8/30/2024, 11:35 AM
@clintthahamster - The lead believes the show was without problems and that it was only racist people that didn't like it.
TheClungerine
TheClungerine - 8/30/2024, 12:01 PM
@clintthahamster - bravo sir 🤣
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/30/2024, 12:42 PM
@clintthahamster -

You are wearing out the straw man bit to the point you are doing what you accuse others of.

Repeatedly saying straw man argument does not make you right and everyone you disagree with wrong.
CreateNowSlpL8r
CreateNowSlpL8r - 8/30/2024, 2:44 PM
@clintthahamster - NO ONE WATCHED THIS SHOW. Thats it. Thats the answer. The show was marketed for an audience that doesn't exist. Disney recognized this problem and had brough the old crew back for the next Avengers projects and cancelled this terrible show.

PS: They have also figured out that Twitter activists will go through the trouble to write articles and start petitions ...and still not watch the show.

@kazuma @DocSpock
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 3:24 PM
@kazuma - "The lead believes the show was without problems and that it was only racist people that didn't like it."

She's wrong.

"Repeatedly saying straw man argument does not make you right and everyone you disagree with wrong."

I've cited it twice today, both in response to actual straw man arguments. Can't remember the last time. But as tired as y'all are of having your legitimate criticisms labeled as racist, I'm just as tired of "my side's" arguments being mischaracterized as dismissing legitimate criticisms and accusing others of bigotry.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 3:40 PM
@CreateNowSlpL8r - "NO ONE WATCHED THIS SHOW. Thats it. Thats the answer. The show was marketed for an audience that doesn't exist."

I don't disagree. I mean, not no one, because me and mine were pretty hyped to watch it, and pretty bummed that it got canceled, but you're obviously correct. The show didn't appeal to a wide enough audience to justify the budget required to make a second season. But then, I've never said otherwise.

I just pointed out that Kazuma's post, implying that the show's defenders are saying that racism, misogyny, and homophobia were the only reason that the show failed, was not true. Just as untrue as saying that there wasn't a small but very loud group of "fans" trying to poison the well against the show from the jump because it focused on non-white characters and female characters, and was made by a queer person.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/30/2024, 7:35 PM
@CreateNowSlpL8r -

Very true.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 8/30/2024, 8:02 PM
@clintthahamster - But the whole point is that Amandla Stenberg, Headland, and Kathleen Kennedy have never once said, "We recognize our show had some shortcomings and could have been better in these areas...".

I'm not saying I would expect them to admit these things publicly, but the ONLY excuse we keep hearing from them is "blah blah racism, blah blah bigots, blah blah male audience, blah blah alt right".

This is why @Kazuma 's first comment isn't really a straw man. He's specifically pointing his comment at Amandla Stenberg and her comments, not you or your entire "side".

He mentioned all those things because not a single one of them has ever been mentioned as problems from the people that made this show. By not addressing these things, but blaming its failure on something else entirely, one can very easily draw the conclusion that they are placing all their blame on a certain type of audience.

And the funny thing is these people even tried to say these bigots are a small, loud minority. But now they are shifting their goal posts and placing all the blame on this "small minority"? They can't have it both ways.

What this means is this. Either it is a small minority of the fanbase and their show tanked for other reasons. OR...it is NOT a small minority and they are idiots for not giving the majority of fans what they want.

This is why only blaming this on bigots doesn't work and only makes them look even more foolish.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/31/2024, 8:10 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I've only heard Stenberg come anywhere close to laying the failure of the show at the feet of racist trolls. I think there's some confirmation bias going on here.

And come on, man, "Yes the show was peak star wars. Nothing has been or could ever be better. It's better than the creation of star wars itself," that's a straw man. No one is saying this, but he has portrayed that false argument because it's absurd on it's face and impossible to defend.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 8/31/2024, 10:14 AM
@clintthahamster - So that's true, Stenberg is really the only one that has said that. We haven't heard from Kennedy or Headland yet, but I'm sure at least one of them will place the blame on racism. But I'll hold off until, or if that happens. But for the time being, this article and conversation is about Stenberg's comment.

And that quote you out in there? You're right. That would be a strawman. I think Kazuma's overall comment was mocking if anything, and I think most of it is valid based on the reasons I gave. But that sentence you quoted is 100% a strawman.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/31/2024, 10:54 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I know I'm being naive expecting anything like civil, rational discourse on this website. But I also get REALLY tired of seeing dudes make up things to be mad about, and then just refusing to let that shit go.
CreateNowSlpL8r
CreateNowSlpL8r - 8/31/2024, 3:41 PM
@clintthahamster - At the end of the day, the show just wasn't well received. I'm not saying you but the vocal minority defending are doing it for whatever purpose they might have. Those are the activists. I wrote an article on this site about this before. You can't dismiss HOTD, Fallout, Blue eye samurai, One piece, and Shogun and keep calling the nerd fandom ists and phobes. It's obectively been proven wrong by the success of other diverse shows. HOTD not only race swapped and entire family of people but stars two females, one of which is loud and proud LGBT. The problem as I see it, is there may be loud vocal minorites on both sides but the activist side does not consume media. They just move on to the next thing. Whats happening is Disney is losing the majority of its non vocal fan base that is just sick of bad content. They are rejecting it. They don't care what gender is sexual orientation the cast is so stop marketing your content around it.

Honestly, I shouldnt even really know what her sexual orientation in real life is. Why does it matter?
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/31/2024, 11:00 PM
@CreateNowSlpL8r - "You can't dismiss HOTD, Fallout, Blue eye samurai, One piece, and Shogun and keep calling the nerd fandom ists and phobes"

None of those things are Star Wars, though. And all but two were either set in historical Japan, or originated there. Apples and oranges IMO.

"Honestly, I shouldnt even really know what her sexual orientation in real life is. Why does it matter?

Yes, I too am very comfortable with and accustomed to the norm of assuming everyone is heterosexual. But that's not the case. And stories and storytellers that diverge from that norm are sadly still newsworthy. And until we can all just shrug and say "yeah, and?" when it's announced that an actor a showrunner is queer, it will remain newsworthy. Please believe that the goal is for it to be unremarkable, but in the meantime, here we are.
Radders
Radders - 9/2/2024, 2:55 AM
@kazuma - I guess not everyone gets sarcasm
S8R8M
S8R8M - 8/30/2024, 8:45 AM
Eh????? Why are we still talking about this show?
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/30/2024, 8:54 AM
@S8R8M -

Because everyone who didn't like it is racist, homophobic, misogynist, an incel, a cannibal, etc. They have a lot more screaming about victimhood and crying to do about it.

But the fact is that it just sucked. Time for them to accept it and move on.


Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 9:00 AM
@DocSpock - User Comment Image
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/30/2024, 9:06 AM
@clintthahamster -

Nah.
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 8/30/2024, 9:23 AM
@S8R8M - "Why are we still talking about this show?"

Because race-baiters gotta race-bait. And create the fairy tale-narrative that a vast alt-right conspiracy of review-bombing and hateful, bigoted criticism of the cast of The Acolyte doomed its chances of getting a S2. Discarded from the fantasy is the reality that the show was not good and consequently had poor viewership numbers.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 9:39 AM
@DocSpock -

Yup.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 9:42 AM
@GeneralZod - Two things can be true at the same time. The Acolyte was targeted early and often with racist, homophobic, and misogynistic bullshit online; and The Acolyte didn't have enough viewership to justify its budget for a second season. Anyone that's blaming the latter entirely on the former is wrong. Anyone denying that the former played even a small role in the latter is also wrong.
S8R8M
S8R8M - 8/30/2024, 9:50 AM
@DocSpock - That is a little extreme, bud. I didn't like it and I am none of those categories.
Ikusa
Ikusa - 8/30/2024, 10:09 AM
@clintthahamster - Nah.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/30/2024, 10:20 AM
@S8R8M -

and you should be able to voice that without being labeled or vilified.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 10:55 AM
@DocSpock - He literally just did. Y'all's persecution complex is something else.
JackBurton1
JackBurton1 - 8/30/2024, 11:01 AM
@S8R8M - Because the site writers have turned into a group they made fun of for yours...the Snyder cult.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/30/2024, 11:05 AM
@clintthahamster -

Annnndd you just labelled him and me as having a "persecution complex". What a laugh.
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 8/30/2024, 11:27 AM
@clintthahamster - I respect your opinion. Will disagree that the online racist, homophobic and misogynistic bullshit played even a small role in adversely affecting The Acolyte's S2 renewal prospects. Those jackasses are a tiny fraction of the overall viewership -- maybe 1%? Heck, i will even give you up to 3% to be charitable. They can post what they want to post, but general audiences with viewing power do pretty well in filtering through the noise and gravitating to quality. There is a reason Marvel Comics 'C' character Black Panther did a ridiculous $1.6 billion at the box office (using 2024 inflation-adjusted numbers) and why BP2 almost broke $1 billion without a real Black Panther -- in spite of all the noise both of those movies received. Acolyte was Star Wars in name only -- that was obvious by the end of episode 1. From there, audiences began running away. The numbers don't lie: The two-episode Acolyte premiere garnered 488 million minutes of total viewing time. Then, in the week that Episode 3 was released, this number had dropped to 370 million minutes. Drops after any premier usually happen, but this is a big drop. The show failed to capture the audience's interest at the same level as its predecessor Star Wars D+ shows. In short, the racist jackasses didn't move the needle. The worst thing we can do is legitimize them, because attention is their oxygen.
S8R8M
S8R8M - 8/30/2024, 11:48 AM
@DocSpock - I don't like where this is going. I will leave that one there for now.
CreateNowSlpL8r
CreateNowSlpL8r - 8/30/2024, 2:38 PM
@DocSpock - Period.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 3:13 PM
@DocSpock - No, I labeled you as having a persecution complex. 😉
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 8/30/2024, 3:20 PM
@GeneralZod - "Those jackasses are a tiny fraction of the overall viewership -- maybe 1%? Heck, i will even give you up to 3% to be charitable."

For sure, but they are LOUD. And they are burrowed in to every fan space, every social media network. And they were concertedly generating negative word-of-mouth for at least a year before production even started. Not saying that the show wouldn't have been canceled if it weren't for those mouthy shitheads. No way to know. But there are people on this very board that declined to watch the show because of negative word of mouth from Youtubers and "leakers" and (yes, sorry) racist assholes, who might have watched it otherwise. And that's a VERY small sample.

"Acolyte was Star Wars in name only"

I guess I don't understand what you mean when you say "Star Wars," then. It was a space opera with space wizards and laser swords, battles between good and evil, exotic locations and strange alien races. That's Star Wars, baby!

"The worst thing we can do is legitimize them, because attention is their oxygen."

IDK, I feel like there was a time when "just ignore them, they'll go away," but I think that time has passed. Not gonna get into politics here (for once) but I think we're well past the part of the story where we get to politely ignore the bigots. Time to speak up.
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