'It just broke my heart'
Star Wars icon Ewan McGregor has offered his support to his
Obi-Wan Kenobi co-star Moses Ingram after she revealed the racist abuse she'd received online after staring in the new franchise spin-off show.
Taking to the official
Star Wars Twitter account, McGregor said that the comments the actor had received "broke my heart" before continuing to praise the budding star as a "brilliant actor... a brilliant woman" and stating that "I totally stand with Moses."
Debuting last Friday May 27, the long-awaited arrival of
Obi-Wan Kenobi wasted no time in breaking records, becoming the most watched Disney+ premiere of all time - but things weren't all great.
Shortly after the show debuted - in which McGregor reprises his role as the series' eponymous Jedi master, this time hiding out in the Tatooine desert after his apprentice Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side - internet trolls decided to take aim at one of the series' newest break-out stars.
Appearing as Inquisitor Reva - also known as the Grand Inquisitor's (Rupert Friend)'s unruly colleague Third Sister - Ingram's role as a Sith Jedi hunter with a thirst for finding Kenobi quickly led to the star receiving vile racist abuse online.
Shortly after revealing some of the comments she was receiving on
Instagram, the official
Star Wars Twitter showed its support:
https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1531519653951836161?s=20&t=g5ElGxb_1CrikBd3bMWfiw
And now, Master Kenobi himself has entered the conversation. Speaking again through the official
Star Wars socials, McGregor started by thanking fans for supporting the show:
https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1531804726165401600?s=20&t=ZmB1zLOFMkcR7yPAyKWg6A
"This weekend, Star Wars fans made Obi-Wan Kenobi the most-watched Disney+ original series premiere of all time. And for that, I would say a big thank you, and it goes to show what this family can do when we all pull together," he began.
"However, it seems that some of the fanbase have decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most hateful, horrendous DMs, and I heard some of them this morning and it just broke my heart."
He continued, adding: "Moses is a brilliant actor, she's a brilliant woman, and she's absolutely amazing in this series. She brings so much to the series, so much to the franchise, and it just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening. I just want to say as the leading actor in the series, as the executive producer 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. And I totally stand with Moses."
Of course, this is unfortunately not the first time that a BAME actor has received backlash from
Star Wars fans following their appearance in a galaxy far, far away, with Kelly Marie Tran forced to leave social media following her appearance in
The Last Jedi. Franchise star John Boyega has reportedly also received similar abuse.
However vile online comments do little to change the fact that Ingram's presence in Disney's latest small screen
Star Wars adventure has already proven to be one of the show's most appealing aspects.
With Reva's apparent loyalty to Darth Vader and reckless determination in tracking down his old Jedi master - surely all kinds of space drama are brewing.
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