Topline
Anti-“woke” critics have targeted the buzzy new “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte,” after star Amandla Stenberg and creator Leslye Headland laughed as an interviewer suggested the series is the “gayest” entry in the Star Wars universe and speculated whether robot character R2-D2 is a lesbian, resulting in a review-bombing campaign of the series and backlash from conservatives.
“The Acolyte” creator Leslye Headland joked she thinks “Star Wars” robot R2-D2 could be a lesbian. … [+] (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Key Facts
In a now-viral interview clip, Stenberg and Headland laugh as an interviewer for The Wrap jokes that “The Acolyte” is the “gayest” entry in the “Star Wars” franchise, prompting Stenberg to say “Star Wars is so gay already—I mean, have you seen the ‘fits?”
Headland also joked, “Are you telling me with a straight face that C-3PO is straight?” and said she thinks “it’s canon that R2-D2 is a lesbian,” referring to the companion robot characters in “Star Wars.”
The Wrap’s tweet of the interview, posted with “Happy Pride Month!” in the caption, quickly attracted negative responses from conservative critics in the replies.
“The Acolyte” has been flooded with negative user reviews online: It has just a 27% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.4 average out of 10 on Metacritic, both far below the positive critics scores.
Headland, who is queer, previously told The Advocate there is “no way that me being a queer woman is not going to be reflected in my work” while discussing “The Acolyte.”
Chief Critics
Conservative Daily Wire pundit Ben Shapiro slammed the “The Acolyte” in a video titled “R2D2 Is GAY?!” accusing Disney of trying to “indoctrinate children into the cult of Pride Month.” Brett Cooper, also a Daily Wire pundit, accused Disney of “checking off industry diversity quotas instead of just trying to produce a good entertainment story,” stating “audiences don’t care if you’re gay, they just don’t want that to be the primary focus of literally every single thing.” Conservative author Isabel Brown posted a reaction to Stenberg and Headland’s interview to her 350,000 TikTok followers, with many commenters declaring they’d refuse to watch the series. Right-wing X accounts, like End Wokeness, an account with 2.5 million followers, amplified the interview by reposting and mocking the clip from The Wrap, which now has 3.4 million views and thousands of angry comments.
Crucial Quote
“They’ve called our show ‘The Woke-alyte’ a fair amount – which I’m like, ‘OK, what about it?’” Stenberg said in an interview with GQ Magazine. “There’s also a significant sect of Black creators and Black ‘Star Wars’ fans on TikTok who are being vocal about…the pushback that we’ve received and where it comes from. And those folks make me so deeply happy, and those are the folks that I’m so grateful to.”
Contra
Despite the review-bombing efforts, “The Acolyte” has been well-received by critics. The series has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 105 critic reviews. Bloomberg critic Esther Zuckerman praised Headland’s interpretation of the “Star Wars” universe, stating she “remixes it creatively” and that Headland’s direction has the “energy of a kid playing with her favorite toys.” Washington Post critic Lili Loofbourow called “The Acolyte” a “lot of fun to watch” and said the show “refreshes the franchise.” The show had the biggest debut for a Disney+ series so far this year, with 4.8 million views in its first day.
Surprising Fact
A forthcoming entry in the “Star Wars” franchise has already attracted anti-“woke” criticism, years before its release. Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy told CNN in January it’s “about time” a woman directs a “Star Wars” film, sparking backlash from some conservative critics who resurfaced a years-old comment she made stating she likes to “make men uncomfortable” through her art.
Tangent
“The Acolyte” is the latest Disney project to face accusations of “wokeness” by conservative critics. Last year’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” faced criticism for casting Black singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel, the mermaid who is white in the original animated film. “Elemental” was mocked for including a nonbinary character, and critics lampooned “The Marvels” for its dismal box office performance by alleging the women-led movie was too “woke” for audiences. Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed the “woke” criticisms in an April interview with CNBC, stating “a lot of people don’t even understand” what “woke” actually means. He maintained that Disney’s primary focus is entertainment, not “infusing messaging” into film and television content.
Key Background
“The Acolyte” began streaming its first two episodes on Disney+ on June 4, with new episodes set to drop each week. The series takes place about a century before the events of the main “Star Wars” films. “The Acolyte” stars Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Carrie-Ann Moss, Manny Jacinto and more, many as Jedi characters that investigate a series of crimes.
Further Reading
‘The Acolyte’ Reaches 4.8 Million Views in One Day, Biggest Disney+ Launch of 2024 (Variety)
Upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Film Attacked As ‘Woke’ By Right-Wing Critics Over Director’s Feminist Comments (Forbes)
