Obi-Wan Kenobi: Star Wars statement tells fans ‘don’t choose to be racist’ after Moses Ingram receives hateful messages

Star Wars came to the defence of Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram on its official Twitter account after the actor received racist abuse online.

“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,” the tweet read.

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

The statement came hours after Ingram, who plays an Imperial Inquisitor out to hunt Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan in the series, posted a series of abusive, racist comments she had received on her Instagram Story.

Some of the comments included: “You’re days are numbered [sic]” and “You suck loser. You’re a diversity hire and you won’t be loved or remembered for this acting role.”

Ingram recently told The Independent’s Louis Chilton that Lucasfilm, Star Wars’ production company, had warned her about the negative reception she might receive. “It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of, and said, ‘This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens,’” she said.

The actor credited director Deborah Chow, as well as others throughout Lucasfilm, for “putting the proper systems in place so I feel safe as we do the work”.

“Of course there are always pockets of hate,” she added. “But I have no problem with the block button.”

Ingram is the latest actor of colour to receive abuse from Star Wars fans; John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran both spoke out about the racism they received online when they starred in the franchise.

In 2020, Boyega urged movie studios to take a larger and more public role in defending their stars from racist harassment.

“When one of your actors, especially an actor that’s so prominent in the story, is announced as part of your franchise and then it has a big racial backlash and receives abuse online... It is important for the studios to definitely lend their voice, lend their support to that and to have a sense of solidarity not just in the public eye, but on the ground on set,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tran said she had to quit the internet for “her own sanity” after the trolling she received for her role in 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.