Jodie Turner-Smith is standing up for herself.
The actress, who played Mother Aniseja in the Disney film Acolytespoke out about the racism and hatred she and her colleagues of color received during their time on the short-lived Star Wars show. While talking to Glamor UKTurner-Smith called out the network for the alleged lack of support they provided amid the controversy.
“They need to stop saying nothing when people on the internet are pouring out racism and bulls—,” she said of Disney’s silence. “It’s just not fair not to say anything. It’s really unfair.”
Jodie Turner Smith in ‘The Acolyte’.
Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney+
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Turner-Smith added: “It would be nice if the people who have all the money – whether it’s Disney or any studio – would show their support and put their feet down. Say this is unacceptable: ‘You’re not a fan if you do this.’ ”
The actress “bet” that Disney “wouldn’t have any money left” if they made a “really big statement” talking about it. She noted how people of color, “especially black people,” make up a large percentage of consumers’ purchasing power.
“They might find that it’s actually more lucrative for them, but everyone uses ‘woke’ like it’s a dirty word,” she continued.
PEOPLE reached out to Disney representatives and Acolyte for comment.
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Amandla Stenberg in ‘The Acolyte’.
Lucasfilm doo
Turner-Smith’s claims echo previous comments from her former colleague, Amandla Stenberg, about dealing with hate from certain quarters Star Wars space fan base.
In a series of Instagram stories shared in August, the 25-year-old actress reacted to the cancellation of the Disney+ series after just one season. Stenberg explained that while she was sad that the show wouldn’t be returning, she wasn’t surprised.
“I’ll be transparent and say that it’s not a big shock for me,” she admitted. “There’s been an outpouring of vitriol that we’ve faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it. Then we started to experience an onslaught of, I would say, hyperconservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hate speech towards us.”
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Stenberg noted how Acolyte it faced backlash before its release for its decision to cast women and people of color in the lead roles.
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“This really affected me when I first got the job, because it’s just not something — even though I expected it to happen — it’s not something you can fully understand how it feels until it happens to you,” she said. “However, I feel like I’ve kind of moved through those feelings in various ways, including being vocal about it myself.”
She continued, “It just became clear to me at a certain point that in order to continue to be myself, I would have to honor my value system by being vocal even in the context of working for Disney.”
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Source: HIS Education