Recent Star Wars Disney+ Shows Acolytetook to social media this week to share her thoughts on the show’s cancellation, and after everything that’s happened, she wasn’t surprised by the show’s cancellation.
“It’s not a huge shock to me,” she said in an Instagram Story. “Obviously, I live in my own reality, but for those of you who don’t know, ever since this show was announced — before it was even a concept and no one had seen it — we’ve been hit with a ton of flak. That’s when we started to see a barrage of so-called ultra-conservative bigotry, vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language directed at us. It really shocked me when I first took this job, because while you expect it to happen, you never fully understand what it feels like until it actually happens.”
By Leslye Headland Acolyte Stenberg plays Force-born twins Mei and Osha, whose very existence makes them troublesome to both Jedi and Sith, and the film is set in the High Republic, hundreds of years before any of the other films. Star Wars In terms of story, the show is focused on how it handles its characters and Star Wars, Etc. Opinions are bound to be mixed, but Stenberg still felt the show was always struggling.
“We also know that these events unfolded the way they did because of the extreme polarization of the times we live in. At this point, I would say it’s driven by echo chambers of thought and algorithms that reinforce our biases,” Stenberg continued. “And I think that’s true for everyone, but for certain pockets of people, I think it manifests as an intense fear of change, an intense hatred of anything different. And I would challenge all of us, and myself, to continue to think critically about what it is that we’re digesting and what’s shaping it.”
Still, Stenberg said she’s grateful to have been a part of the experience and to the fans who watched. “It’s been an incredible honor and a dream for me to be a part of this world,” she said. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed that the show got canceled and I’m disappointed that we can’t give more to the people who were invested in it, but I’m still just so happy and pleased that I got to experience it and that people loved it and responded so well to it.”
“I’ve read so much fan art and ship art and fan theories and stuff that’s just so beautiful and fills my heart with joy,” she said. “And to those who supported us in that way, who were so vocal in the face of all the vitriol we received and the targeted attacks that we received from the alt-right, I want you to know that you were deeply loved and valued. And that’s what makes this work so rewarding for me, and all of the difficult elements of this work so completely rewarding for me.”
She also expressed her gratitude to the show’s creator, Leslye Headland. “I just love that woman so much,” Stenberg said. “She’s one of the best people in the world. I think she’s incredibly talented and unique. I’ll love her forever and I’ll love this experience with her forever.”
And, of course, Stenberg gave it back to her fans. “I also want to thank everyone who watched this,” she said. “Thank you so much for being so loving and supportive and excited and nerdy and all that. I’m going to be taking this for a long time.”
Want more news from io9? Check out everything you need to know about when the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases are due, what’s next for the DC Universe in movies and TV, and the future of Doctor Who.