There's an unfortunate reality that comes with a fandom going fully mainstream. It leaves room for plenty of toxic people to permeate the ranks of what should be a group of wonderful like-minded nerds. Suddenly, fans can no longer express their enjoyment of a new show without gatekeepers breaking down the door wielding their "no fun allowed" signs.
That situation has seemingly only gotten worse in the Star Wars fandom over recent years. With the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+, a certain new star has begun her rise, only for the worst aspects of humanity to take note and take offense at her existence. Moses Ingram, who plays Inquisitor Reva on the show, has quickly become one of its breakout performers. But as a Black woman, she faces tons of backlash based entirely on her race, to the point where Lucasfilm specifically warned her about racist fans before the show launched.
It now seems that even the monolith known as Star Wars itself was taken by surprise at the sheer amount of vitriol leveled toward Ingram. Racism has unfortunately always been a problem with this particular group of devotees, but lately, it's ramped up to horrific degrees. It even got to the point where the official Star Wars account issued a statement condemning the racist backlash and calling it out for what it is. However, it seems that Star Wars isn't the only intergalactic property to back up Ingram against the bigoted hordes.
Anson Mount, who plays Captain Pike on the highly-regarded new series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, recently took to Instagram himself to post his support for Ingram. Along with a striking portrait of the actress, he shared a heartfelt and powerful statement against the hatred among self-proclaimed Star Wars fans. "This is Moses Ingram," Mount wrote. "She is a singular talent and a recent addition to the [Star Wars] universe. She has also been targeted by racists pretending to be fans because her mere existence threatens a skewed, dystopian fantasy that selectively omits the likes of [Billy Dee Williams] and others. We, the Trek Family, have her back."
This all came after Ingram posted an Instagram story sharing a number of the hateful comments and threats she's received. "There’s nothing anybody can do about this," she said of the vicious messages. "There's nothing anybody can do to stop this hate. I question my purpose in even being here in front of you saying that this is happening. I don't really know." It's genuinely heartbreaking to see such a shining star face such unfair backlash.
As horrible as the comments and pointless complaints against Ingram are, it's at least a little heartwarming to see "soft" and "hard" sci-fi legends Star Wars and Star Trek unite in their unconditional support for her. There's still a long way to go before these pockets of hate finally start to lose their fangs, and it will take effort from everyone in order to silence them. But here's hoping these helpful statements will inspire more fans to come forward and stick up for those who need it.
Obi-Wan Kenobi currently airs new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
Source: Deadline