South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae addresses the violent reception of the series Star Wars The Acolyte and the racism of some fans.
In August 2024, the ax fell: while it was being written, season 2 of The Acolyte was canceled. On the one hand, given that Forbes revealed that the series Star Wars had cost at least $230 million and the mayonnaise was difficult to set, this decision could make sense. On the other hand, it is difficult not to say that after a violent backlash (which began even before the broadcast of the first episode), the most toxic part of the fans had won their absurd war.
From its development, the project headed by Leslye Headland was under fire from criticism that had no reason to be. After John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran in the last trilogy Star Warsand Moses Ingram in the series Obi-Wan Kenobiso they are Amandla Stenberg (Osha/Mae), Jodie Turner-Smith (Mother Aniseya) and Lee Jung-jae (Jedi Master Sol) who were victims of online harassment, always based on racism and/or misogyny.
The latter also returned to this painful experience.
THE WORST ACOLYTE
In full promotion of season 2 of Squid Game in which he will reprise the lead role, South Korean Lee Jung-jae spoke again to Variety of the violent reception of certain “fans” towards the series and its casting:
“I was hurt, especially for Leslye Headland who must have suffered a lot. I can just have hope that racism will one day stop, even if it will be difficult. Some works take time to gain traction, and I'm hopeful that people will appreciate it over time. As long as I'm grateful, everything will be fine. […] Fandom goes hand in hand with my career. This is the very nature of the thing, so I cannot take it for granted. No matter what happens, I am always grateful. »
The actor is not the first in the casting of The Acolyte to have spoken on the subject. Last October Amandla Stenberg explained that she found it unfair and disappointing “to have the impression that the studio [les] did not cover in front of the public […] and its hyper-conservative bigotry”while Jodie Turner-Smith expressed her wish to see “the people who have all the money show their support and bang their fists on the table”.
Unfortunately, the phenomenon goes far beyond the sphere Star Warssince the same review bombing and pack harassment operations notably targeted the young Halle Bailey in the remake of The Little Mermaid and Rachel Zegler in that of Snow White. However, the big-eared thinking heads of the company have never really spoken out on the subject, nor have they publicly come to their defense… Perhaps because Disney is not “woke”?
Failing to find the Haute République, fans of Star Wars (those who know how to behave) can now discover the first two episodes of Skeleton Crewaka the Goonies from Lucasfilm on Disney+. The other episodes of the series will then be released every Wednesday. And to find Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun, you will have to wait for the release of season 2 of Squid Game December 26 on Netflix.
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