THE ACOLYTE Star Amandla Stenberg Says Cancellation Wasn't "A Huge Shock" Amid "Rampage Of Vitriol"

THE ACOLYTE Star Amandla Stenberg Says Cancellation Wasn't "A Huge Shock" Amid "Rampage Of Vitriol"

The lead star of Disney+'s latest Star Wars series, Amandla Stenberg, has weighed in on the show's recent cancellation, admitting that this development didn't come as a huge surprise...

By MarkCassidy - Aug 29, 2024 11:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars

Amandla Stenberg, who played the dual lead roles of Force-sensitive "twins" Osha and Mae in The Acolyte, has broken her silence on Disney+'s latest Star Wars series being cancelled, and it sounds like she feels the negative backlash did contribute to Lucasfilm's decision to some extent.

Reports have indicated that the studio decided not to renew the show for a second season because of declining viewership, but Stenberg believes that a "rampage of hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language" contributed to the overall negative perception of the project.

“It’s not a huge shock for me [that it was canceled]. 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. That’s when we started experiencing a rampage of hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language towards us ... this really affected me when I first got the job because it’s just not something, even though I anticipated it happening, it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you.”

“It has been an incredible honor and dream for me to be in this universe ... And I just want to let those people know out there who supported us in that way, and supported us vocally in the face of all of the vitriol that we received, and the kind of the targeted attack I would say we received by the alt-right, just that you were deeply loved and appreciated, and it made this job all the worthwhile for me"

"And I have to thank Lesyle Headland ... I just [frick]ing love that bitch ... one of the best people in the world ... she's so incredibly talented and unique ... I will love this experience with her forever"

It's not hard to understand where Stenberg is coming from, but if The Acolyte was a massive success for Lucasfilm/Disney, would any amount of fan backlash really have made that much difference? That said, we did see a dramatic shift in plans for the Star Wars sequel trilogy following the response to The Last Jedi, so who knows?

You can check out Stenberg's video below.

How do you feel about The Acolyte's cancellation? Drop us a comment down 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.

Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.

Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.

"I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith," Headland told EW in a recent interview. "That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote 'extinct' to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?"

Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.

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Spoken
Spoken - 8/29/2024, 11:33 AM
User Comment Image
WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 8/29/2024, 11:34 AM
Activists make agenda, driven garbage show

Fans reject, agenda driven garbage show

Activists call fans, racist, and homophobic
for not watching agenda driven garbage show

Agenda driven garbage and show gets canceled

Activist blame Fans

Fire Kathleen Kennedy



Diend
Diend - 8/29/2024, 12:18 PM
@WakandaTech -
CasualFanatic
CasualFanatic - 8/29/2024, 12:20 PM
@WakandaTech - trying to decide how much to engage with your comment. What is the agenda you perceive the show pushed?
0bstreperous
0bstreperous - 8/29/2024, 12:23 PM
@WakandaTech - I couldn't finish the third episode where the identical twins weren't identical

CreateNowSlpL8r
CreateNowSlpL8r - 8/29/2024, 1:09 PM
@WakandaTech - Lets not forget the studio head calling out the fans before the show even aired.

Kneeonbrown
Kneeonbrown - 8/29/2024, 1:54 PM
@0bstreperous - I think some credit is due to the show runners that so much other sh*t was wrong with that show that almost no one mentions that the twins weren't f*ckin even twins. Cheers.
AC1
AC1 - 8/29/2024, 3:19 PM
@WakandaTech - what was the agenda?
Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 8/29/2024, 7:12 PM
@WakandaTech - User Comment Image
EZBeast
EZBeast - 8/29/2024, 11:34 AM
"I live in the bubble of my own reality" - the [frick]?
Spoken
Spoken - 8/29/2024, 11:35 AM
@EZBeast - LMFAO Yeah that didn't help when I read that
EgoEgor
EgoEgor - 8/29/2024, 11:41 AM
@EZBeast - when you add fame with haters that have nothing better to do, I don't blame her, the internet is just toxic.
Thing94
Thing94 - 8/29/2024, 11:35 AM
Keep crying Amandla
TheLight
TheLight - 8/29/2024, 7:04 PM
@Thing94 - Seriously. Every time she talks it's like,


User Comment Image
WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 8/29/2024, 11:36 AM
She seems like a horrible person

She bullies and calls fans names, and then she plays the victim
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 8/29/2024, 11:48 AM
@WakandaTech - Yup.
User Comment Image
Ghoul
Ghoul - 8/29/2024, 8:47 PM
@WakandaTech - 1000%!!!!! No accountability! I’ve seen posts, there’s hate out there for sure that crosses the line, but there’s a larger conversation show quality wise she ignores at all costs
DevilsDreams
DevilsDreams - 8/30/2024, 3:13 AM
@WakandaTech - "I live in the bubble of my own reality" honestly I feel like this statement alone tells us most of what we need to know...
McMurdo
McMurdo - 8/29/2024, 11:38 AM
I'm still upset about Hitler getting the paramount Halo show canceled and Newt Gingrich prematurely ending Anne with an E.
TheClungerine
TheClungerine - 8/29/2024, 11:39 AM
She ain't wrong.

McMurdo
McMurdo - 8/29/2024, 11:42 AM
@TheClungerine - narcissists never are.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/29/2024, 11:45 AM
@TheClungerine -

She is. Wrong. They dumped the show because they spent a couple hundred million on it and very few people watched it because it sucked.

FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 8/29/2024, 11:46 AM
@DocSpock - Where is she wrong? Or are you going to lie bare faced and act as if this show didn’t receive vitriol from the day it was announced?
DetectiveKimble
DetectiveKimble - 8/29/2024, 11:54 AM
@FireandBlood - She a close friend of yours or a relative or something? You had jus said this same thing above
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 8/29/2024, 11:40 AM
"hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language ..."
User Comment Image
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 8/29/2024, 11:40 AM
Yeah this show got a lot of hate from the get-go and maybe it was doomed to fail, but the show itself not being good didn't really help turning it around either.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/29/2024, 11:45 AM
@bkmeijer1 - possibly but going by the petition and outcry on social media , it obviously still connected with a lot of people

Sadly not able to be saved but only giving it a month to find an audience is nuts and not good.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/29/2024, 11:46 AM
@bkmeijer1 - it’s unfortunate you didn’t enjoy the show

What did or didn’t you like about it?:
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 8/30/2024, 1:55 AM
@TheVisionary25 - I'm being a bit hyperbolic here. The show does have redeeming qualities (like Qimir) and does have it's fans.

It's just that it offers even less than Kenobi or Boba Fett did. And they're not getting renewed either.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 8/29/2024, 11:45 AM
All true, even if the show got cancelled for its low numbers. You see, you can acknowledge the fact a bunch of racist and homophobic [foo foo]s had it out for this show from day dot, and still recognise the ultimately, the show fell short. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that a lot of the dissenters were just racist and homophobic [foo foo]s.
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