{"id":2418173,"date":"2025-03-31T20:05:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T00:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/star-wars-actor-criticizes-fandom-for-racism-calls-franchise-so-elite\/"},"modified":"2025-03-31T20:07:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T00:07:20","slug":"star-wars-actor-criticizes-fandom-for-racism-calls-franchise-so-elite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/star-wars-actor-criticizes-fandom-for-racism-calls-franchise-so-elite\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars actor criticizes fandom for racism, calls franchise &#8216;so elite&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstar-wars-actor-criticizes-fandom-for-racism-calls-franchise-so-elite%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2418173&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Actor John Boyega has openly criticized the Star Wars franchise for its racial dynamics, describing it as &#8220;so white&#8221; and elitist. He expressed frustration over the treatment of his character, Finn, who was initially presented as a lead but was sidelined in later films. Boyega believes that there is discomfort among some fans regarding Black actors in leading roles, suggesting that diversity is often tokenized in the franchise. He has remarked that while characters like Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu are pointed out as examples of diversity, such representations feel superficial. BoyegaS comments reflect broader concerns about racial bias in Hollywood, notably in the context of leading roles for Black actors.he has previously discussed these issues in interviews, arguing that Disney mishandled the marketing and growth of his character compared to others, and noted that while Black actors are accepted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-replaces-humans-with-v-r-puppets-on-reality-tv-show\/\" title=\"China Replaces Humans with V.R. Puppets on Reality TV Show\">supporting roles<\/a>, resistance arises when they take center stage.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Star Wars actor criticizes fandom for racism, calls the franchise &lsquo;so elite&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2075149\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Actor John Boyega is once again voicing his frustrations with the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/star-wars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Star Wars\">Star Wars<\/a><\/em>  franchise for being &ldquo;so white.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The actor, who played the heroic stormtrooper-turned-Resistance fighter Finn in <em>The Force Awakens<\/em>, <em>The Last Jedi<\/em>, and <em>The Rise of Skywalker<\/em>, has been vocal about his experiences with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/racism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"racism\">racism<\/a> in the Star Wars universe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3364635\/alyssa-farah-griffin-trump-third-term-talk-catnip\/\">Alyssa Farah Griffin on Trump&rsquo;s third term talk: &#8216;Catnip for the media&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3364102\/charlamagne-tha-god-cnn-more-people-like-scott-jennings\/\">Charlamagne tha God wishes CNN had more people like Scott Jennings<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3363503\/brave-plus-streaming-parents-peace-of-mind-trent-talbot\/\">New BRAVE+ streaming platform offers parents peace of mind: Trent Talbot<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Boyega <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/film\/news\/john-boyega-star-wars-white-fans-reject-black-heroes-1236352669\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a><em>  Star Wars<\/em> has always felt like an &ldquo;elite white&rdquo; space and suggested some fans felt discomfort when a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disney-star-wars-criticized-over-black-history-month-tweet-after-minimizing-black-character\/\" title=\"Disney, Star Wars Criticized Over Black History Month Tweet After Minimizing Black ...\">black actor<\/a> took on a lead role.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a franchise that&rsquo;s so white that a black person existing in [it] was something,&rdquo; Boyega remarked.<\/p>\n<p>He added that when fans reference Lando Calrissian or Mace Windu as examples of diversity, it feels like tokenism, likening it to &ldquo;telling me how many cookie chips are in the cookie dough.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Boyega&rsquo;s comments also reflect his frustration over how his character, initially set up as one of the leads in <em>The Force Awakens<\/em>, was sidelined in the following films. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Boyega, a cast member in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/documentary-filmmaker-nick-searcy-everything-that-happened-on-jan-6-benefited-the-deep-state-dems\/\" title=\"Documentary Filmmaker Nick Searcy: Everything That Happened on Jan 6 Benefited the Deep State, Dems\">documentary film &#038;ldquo<\/a>;Number One on the Call Sheet,&rdquo; poses at the premiere of the film at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Many fans had hoped to see more of Finn in the final two installments, but Disney opted for a different direction, which Boyega attributes to racial bias.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t the first time Boyega has expressed discontent with<em> Star Wars.<\/em> <\/p>\n<p>In a 2020 interview with <em>GQ<\/em>, he criticized Disney for mishandling the diversity of his character, saying, &ldquo;Do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Boyega went on to compare the treatment of his character to that of Daisy Ridley&rsquo;s Rey and Adam Driver&rsquo;s Kylo Ren, saying they were given more depth and focus than he was.<\/p>\n<p>In the new Apple TV+ documentary, <em>Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood<\/em>, Boyega further elaborated on his feelings, explaining that while <em>Star Wars<\/em> fans were OK with <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">black characters playing supporting roles<\/a>, the idea of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-legend-sidney-poitier-dies-at-94\/\" title=\"Hollywood Legend Sidney Poitier Dies At 94\">black actors<\/a> leading the story was met with resistance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re OK with us playing the best friend, but once we touch their heroes, once we lead, once we trailblaze, it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Oh my God, it&rsquo;s just a bit too much! They&rsquo;re pandering,&rsquo;&rdquo; Boyega said.<\/p>\n<p>Following his <em>GQ<\/em> interview, Boyega revealed that a Disney executive reached out to him, leading to a &ldquo;very honest, very transparent conversation.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>His comments were met with criticism from <em>Star Wars<\/em> fans, who dismissed his sense of self-importance to the franchise.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3360453\/npr-ceo-backtracks-reparations-statements\/\"><strong>NPR CEO BACKTRACKS ON REPARATIONS STATEMENTS: &lsquo;WE ALL OWE MUCH&rsquo;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams&rsquo; legacies would like a word,&rdquo; conservative commentator <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DLoesch\/status\/1906753829233725573\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Dana Loesch said\">Dana Loesch said<\/a>. &ldquo;Literally no one cared when Boyega was cast&mdash;except for China. Disney bent the knee and removed him from all promotional materials when promoting TFA. Be a better actor, and you&rsquo;ll get better roles.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Boyega&rsquo;s criticism of the<em> Star Wars <\/em>franchise comes at a time when <em>Snow White<\/em> struggled at the box office following actress Rachel Zegler&rsquo;s politically progressive commentary that some felt negatively affected the brand.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2075149\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2075149\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Star Wars actor John Boyega criticizes the franchise for its racism and elitism, expressing frustration over its lack of diversity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2678,"featured_media":2418174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/John-Boyega.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7375,35436,15834,50526,34172],"class_list":["post-2418173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-criticism","tag-elitism","tag-fandom","tag-racism-2","tag-star-wars"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/John-Boyega.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2418173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2418178,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418173\/revisions\/2418178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2418174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2418173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2418173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2418173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}