After years of waiting, Obi-Wan Kenobi has finally premiered on Disney+, bringing with it the return of Ewan McGregor's Jedi. In the wake of Order 66, the streaming event will see Kenobi go head-to-head with Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader, the Grand Inquisitor, and a brand-new Jedi-hunting Inquisitor: Moses Ingram's Reva.
Reva already looks to pose a major threat to Kenobi based on the premiere, but the fandom has been flooded with a mixture of reactions to the Inquisitor. There have been many reasons behind this response; some disliked her attack on the Grand Inquisitor, others have been critical of the performance, and many simply didn't resonate with the character.
On top of some legitimate criticisms of the character, the actress has fallen victim to racist abuse on social media, something Disney reportedly warned her of before taking the role. Ingram has already defended herself amid the controversy on Instagram, but now, the official Star Wars account has stepped in to comment.
Star Wars Defends Reva Actress from Racism
The official Star Wars Twitter account defended Obi-Wan Kenobi's Reva actress Moses Ingram after she received mass hate and racist reactions following the premiere.
The statement shared their excitement for Ingram to join the Star Wars universe before opposing those who seek to "make her feel in any way unwelcome:"
"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."
A follow-up tweet made particular note of the racial comments Ingram had faced, asking fans to not "choose to be a racist:"
"There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist."
Ingram herself took to her Instagram stories to respond to several messages that she personally received on her account, calling out the racist remarks and thanking the fans that have been supporting her through this:
"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 this is happening. I don't really know. I don't really know..."
The Obi-Wan Kenobi actress opened up about how the backlash has affected her, while simply telling those who are spouting hatred and racist comments that "y'all weird:"
"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."
Will Obi-Wan Kenobi Change Opinions on Reva?
The racist abuse targeted toward Ingram as a result of opinions on her character and performance is obviously completely unacceptable. Obviously, legitimate criticism of her performance and character may be justifiable by some. However, the race of the actress must never come into play.
Looking at the responses to Star Wars' post in defense of the actress, reactions have been mixed, to say the least. Many fans have defended their opinions, repeated their previous statements, and even pointed out past actions Disney and Lucasfilm have taken, such as removing John Boyega's Finn from The Force Awakens posters in China.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is only two episodes into its six-episode run, so this series has more than enough time to change fans' opinions on Reva - a character who is brand-new to the Star Wars galaxy. Speculation is already running wild that Reva will fall victim to Darth Vader by the end of the series, but only time will tell if those theories pay off.
With the Third Sister having demonstrated a clear personal vendetta toward Kenobi, she certainly appears to be the main villain of the story so far. But only time will tell if the focus will shift away from her towards Vader in the coming episodes as the series builds toward the rematch of the century.
The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are streaming now, exclusively on Disney+; the third installment will premiere on June 1.
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