Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best says that he “[stands] in solidarity” with The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg following the cancellation of her show.
It’s no secret that the Star Wars fandom can be rather mean when they want to be. This was probably at its worst with the introduction of Jar Jar Binks in George Lucas’s Star Wars prequels. Now Jar Jar actor Ahmed Best says he “[stands] in solidarity” with The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg.
Amandla Stenberg, who stars in the recently-canceled Disney Plus series, has faced her own share of backlash since the series was axed. Now that the show has been canceled, however, Stenberg is doing her best to move ahead.
In response, Best shared a statement on Instagram about how he will always stand for artists, no doubt also including others that have been attacked by factions of Star Wars fans, and further tells Stenberg to “keep shining.” Here’s what he said in full:
“I will always stand in solidarity for artists who give 110% to their work and art,” Best begins. “Keep shining queen [Amandla Stenberg].”
As mentioned, Best himself once struggled with hatred from fans after the release of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. The verbal abuse from fans actually got bad enough that Best contemplated suicide.
Fortunately, there are more supportive fans out there today and he has been quite vocal about being thankful for them. On the unfortunate side, there are still all too many cast and crew members that continue to be attacked for merely being included in the Star Wars universe.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional news regarding the Star Wars franchise as we have it. The backlash faced by so many franchise stars, including Ahmed Best and Amandla Stenberg among others, is certainly disappointing to see. Nonetheless, the franchise is moving forward, and we may even see the plot lines from The Acolyte picked up in other projects.