“Nobody Else Had The Death Threats”: John Boyega Slams Disney For Their Role In Racist Backlash
"What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side."
In the months since the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, actor John Boyega has been speaking out more and more against systemic racism.
Most notably, Boyega, who played reformed Stormtrooper Finn in the new Disney trilogy, gave a stirring speech at a Black Lives Matter rally but a few months ago.
“Black lives have always mattered,” Boyega told the crowd, armed with a megaphone. “We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting.”
I really fucking hate racists.
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) May 27, 2020
Now, John Boyega has further clarified his position and his history with racism in a new interview with GQ.
“I’m the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race,” Boyega explains in the profile of his experience with Star Wars fans.
“Let’s just leave it like that. It makes you angry with a process like that. It makes you much more militant; it changes you. Because you realise, ‘I got given this opportunity but I’m in an industry that wasn’t even ready for me.’ Nobody else in the cast had people saying they were going to boycott the movie because [they were in it]. Nobody else had the uproar and death threats sent to their Instagram DMs and social media, saying, ‘Black this and black that and you shouldn’t be a Stormtrooper.’
“Nobody else had that experience. But yet people are surprised that I’m this way. That’s my frustration.”
Later in the interview, Boyega takes on Disney’s role specifically in emboldening racists.
“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
If you can’t read the full article pls pls let your top lip and bottom lip become one. ❤️
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) September 2, 2020
On a related note, Boyega also calls out the writers of the trilogy for giving the lion’s share of the nuance and screen time to white characters.
“Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver,” he says. “You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience.
“They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”
In the hours since the interview has dropped online, Boyega’s comments have been met with widespread support. No word from Disney, though.