Moses Ingram, who plays Reva in the new Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus, has responded to racist comments she has received in the wake of her appearance on the show.

Reva is introduced in the first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi and it is clear she will go on to be one of the series’ major antagonists, after Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader. Reva is hell-bent on finding Obi-Wan Kenobi and delivering him to Vader for reasons that are yet to be explored. However, there have been mixed reactions to the character from audiences. While some are thoroughly enjoying this new villain, others have concerns over how she is being handled in the story. Unfortunately though, some online trolls have chosen to criticize Moses Ingram’s casting over her ethnicity.

It is sad but unsurprising to see a Black actor cast in a major franchise receiving such a vile response from a vocal minority. However, it is at least heartening to see fans defending Moses Ingram and her work on the new Star Wars series.

Moses Ingram shared images of some of the racist comments she had received over her role in Obi-Wan Kenobi in her Instagram stories. In those videos, the Reva actress called out the hateful behaviour and thanked fans who had supported her, saying:

“Long story short, there are hundreds of those [racist messages]. Hundreds. And I also see those of you out there who put on a cape for me and that really does mean the world to me because, you know, there’s nothing anybody can do about this. There’s nothing anybody can do to stop this hate. And so I question what my purpose is in even being in front of you saying that this is happening. I don’t really know. I don’t really know…

“But I think the thing that bothers me is that… this feeling that I’ve had inside of myself, which no one has told me, but this feeling of like, ‘I’ve just gotta shut up and take it.’ You know, I just kinda gotta grin and bear it.’ And I’m not built like that, so I really just wanted to come on, I think, and say thank you to the people who show up for me in the comments and the places that I’m not going to put myself. And to the rest of y’all… y’all weird.”

Official Star Wars social media channels have also come out in support of Moses Ingram following her videos talking about her experience. The Star Wars Instagram account shared images of the Obi-Wan Kenobi actress with the caption:

“There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.

“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.”

To see such aggressive and openly racist comments sent to an actress over her role in a series like Obi-Wan Kenobi is disheartening to say the least, but to see fans and the Star Wars team rallying around Moses Ingram is an encouraging sign that the real fanbase is still warmly accepting those artists who are adding new stories to a much-loved franchise.

Here is the synopsis for the Star Wars event series:

During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi embarks on a crucial mission. Kenobi must confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire.

Directed by Deborah Chow from Joby Harold’s scripts, the series stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie. The series will also see the return of legendary Star Wars composer John Williams, who scored a theme.

The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are on Disney Plus now, with new episodes airing every Wednesday. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the Star Wars event series and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Instagram