Actress Amandla Stenberg, who plays both Mae and Osha in Star Wars: The Acolyte, recently declared that “white people crying was the goal.”
Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
During an appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah from 2018 while she was promoting her film The Hate U Give, Noah asked Stenberg, “When people watch The Hate U Give, what do you want them to walk away with because I know everyone has a slightly different feeling.”
She responded, “Well, I mean, white people crying actually was the goal.” After Noah burst into laughter, Stenberg added, “was the goal.”
“White people crying was the goal”
Amandla Stenberg, lead actress for the new Star Wars series, The Acolyte: pic.twitter.com/b9gOhvYVRj
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 5, 2024
Earlier in the interview while discussing the film, Stenberg said, “So It’s based on this book by Angie Thomas, which is incredible and I highly suggest that you read it if you haven’t. But it’s supposed to be a tool of empathy so oftentimes we see these events portrayed on the news and in media, but usually they’re misconstrued or there at least postulated so that they don’t fully humanize the people of color who are killed and affected by these events.”
“So that’s what this is supposed to be a tool to do, is supposed to ground it in a personal narrative and hopefully people will have a sense of empathy because of that. And so far it’s been really successful. We have a lot of white people crying, which is great. I’ve never seen so many white people crying before. It’s amazing,” she added.
After declaring that white people crying was the goal of the film, she would also elaborate, “We wanted to make sure that, you know, those who, you know, have been affected by the way in which the media misconstrues these events actually have a real sense of empathy and are able to place themselves into the shoes of our communities and understand that these are not just news events. These are happening to real people. They affect us in really deep and pervasive ways.”
She continued, “And then in terms of how it affects people of color, we wanted this to be a space within which we could be ourselves and see ourselves represented and feel validated by that and maybe process some feelings that we don’t ever have the opportunity to move through.”
It’s not surprising that Lucasfilm would hire someone who makes comments like these. Leslye Headland recently told The New York Times that if Star Wars fans oppose woke culture they were not fans in her opinion.
She said, “As a fan myself, I know how frustrating some ‘Star Wars’ storytelling in the past has been. I’ve felt it myself.”
In a follow-up text message she then declared that Star Wars fans who oppose wokeness are not actually Star Wars fans. She said, “I stand by my empathy for ‘Star Wars’ fans. But I want to be clear. Anyone who engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech … I don’t consider a fan.”
(L-R): Director Leslye Headland and Lee Jung-jae on the set of Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Kathleen Kennedy also informed the outlet, “My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people. That’s an easy decision for me.”
She continued, “Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s terrifying. I think Leslye has struggled a little bit with it. I think a lot of the women who step into ‘Star Wars’ struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm attends the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
READ: Leslye Headland Declares People Opposed To Wokeness Are Not Star Wars Fans
The official Star Wars account defended Lucasfilm employee Krystina Arielle after she declared in 2020 that all white people are racists.
Arielle wrote, “White people: f***ing stop it. Your racism won’t save you. Your ignorance is not an excuse.”
Krystina Arielle on X
In June 2020, she also wrote, “Just a reminder that White Women are just as complicit in the upholding and enforcing White Supremacy.”
Krystina Arielle on X
Lucasfilm defended these abhorrent and objectively racist comments and implicitly endorsed the idea that all white people are racist. The company’s official account on X posted in January 2021, “Our Star Wars community is one of hope and inclusivity. We do not stand for bullying and racism. We support Krystina Arielle.”
Star Wars on X
READ: Leslye Headland Confirms ‘The Acolyte’ Is The “Gayest Star Wars,” And Claims That R2-D2 Is A Lesbian
Not only did the company implicitly endorse this idea, but they’ve legally positioned themselves as supporting numerous hate movements including the gay agenda, Black Lives Matter, Defund the Police, and the transgender agenda. They did this by firing Gina Carano for her political beliefs while keeping her fellow The Mandalorian actor Pedro Pascal employed after he’s issued numerous posts on social media in support of these movements.
One such post was done in June 2020 where he shared a cartoon of Bert and Ernie waving a flag while the other holds a Black Lives Matter sign. a Defund the Police sign can also be seen.
Carano’s lawyers noted this in their rebuttal to The Walt Disney Company’s Motion to Dismiss her lawsuit, “Today’s ‘Disney values’ may well embrace Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill comparing supports of former President Trump to the Nazis while opposing the comments made by Carano. And no one disputes Defendants’ ability to express their agreement with the former and their disagreement with the latter.”
The Black Lives Matter organization explicitly advocates “to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folks, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.”
It also wants to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”
Lucasfilm also attempted to accuse its fans of being racist while promoting its Obi-Wan Kenobi series back in 2022. Following the release of the first two episodes of the show to Disney+ the company used actress Moses Ingram to accuse Star Wars fans of racist behavior.
Actor Ewan McGregor humiliated himself with a car video at the time saying, “It seems that some of the fanbase, from this influential fanbase, have decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most horrendous, racist DMs, and I heard some of them this morning and it just broke my heart.”
“Moses is a brilliant actor, she’s a brilliant woman, and she’s absolutely amazing in this series,” McGregor continued. “She brings so much to this series, she brings so much to this franchise, and it just sickened me to my stomach to hear this had been happening.”
He then declared, “I just want to say, as the leading actor in the series, as the EP on the series, that we stand with Moses. We love Moses. And if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind.”
“There’s no place for racism in this world,” he concluded. “And I totally stand with Moses.”
A personal message from Ewan McGregor. pic.twitter.com/rJSDmj663K
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 1, 2022
Like Obi-Wan Kenobi this strategy of attacking its own fans will not work and viewership for the show will likely be some of the worst in Disney Star Wars history.
What do you make of Stenberg claiming the goal is to make white people cry?
