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Pop Culture

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' co-stars share great response to racist comments from 'Star Wars' critics

Moses Ingram and Ewan McGregor quickly parried toxicity with humor and grace.

moses ingram, star wars, ewan mcgregor, reva Sevander, obi-wan kenobi

When an Inquisitor teams up with a Jedi.

Toxic fandom, particularly in the form of racist comments, has become a sad reality for major entertainment franchises, including “Star Wars.” This isn't always the case. Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover—who both play Lando Calrissian—are fairly universally adored. But it still happens and when it does it casts a negative light on a universe George Lucas created nearly 50 years ago that has brought joy into the lives of millions of people from all corners of life. For example, Ahmed Best (the actor who played Jar Jar Binks) became so dispirited by racist backlash that he contemplated taking his own life.

Moses Ingram, who plays Inquisitor Reva Sevander in the new "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series on Disney+, is the latest actor of color to be on the receiving end of online vitriol. Again, she’s not the first. Ingram’s experience is very similar to that of John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran. This was so expected that Ingram told the Independent she was preemptively warned to “brace herself” by Lucasfilm.

Some comments were directed at Ingram’s acting ability. Considering she earned an Emmy nomination for her work on the critically acclaimed Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit,” those insults don’t seem to hold much merit. Plus, even the greatest actor can only do so much with a poorly written character. Criticism is a part of being an actor on the public stage. But the comments Ingram faced had nothing to do with creative differences and instead included threats of violence and racist comments.

Still, Ingram was ready with her own Jedi-worthy response.


Ingram posted a series of Instagram stories following the show’s premiere, at first recognizing the fact that, well, haters gonna hate. “There’s nothing anybody can do about this,” she said with a shrug and a smile. Where she admitted that “what bothers me is that there’s this feeling that I should shut up and take it,” she chooses to instead focus on the many, many fans who do support her.

And to the fans that do react poorly, Ingram has a simple message.

“Y’all weird.”

It’s a funny quip and really a great way to handle an otherwise disheartening situation. Sometimes humor is better than a lightsaber.

Ingram certainly wasn’t alone in standing up for herself. Obi-Wan himself came to fight against the dark side.

Actor Ewan McGregor also posted a video, which was shared by the official “Star Wars” Twitter account. In it, McGregor praises Ingram, calling her a “brilliant actor and amazing in the series,” adding that it “sickened” him to hear what had been happening.

He also clapped back a bit, kindly reminding everyone that as “the leading actor in the series” and as “the executive producer on the series” he stood with Ingram, arguing that those who send bullying messages are “no Star Wars fans.”

Yes, the ever-expanding "Star Wars" universe is not without hate. But perhaps the best approach is to do as Ingram has done—not taking on others' shortcomings of character and instead placing them where they belong … in a galaxy far, far away.

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Satisfied, you walk back to your car feeling proud of yourself for telling that liar off and even more satisfied as you walk the additional 100 steps to get to the store from your lame parking spot all the way at the back of the lot. But did you ever stop and wonder if you told off the wrong person?

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8 nontraditional empathy cards that are unlike any you've ever seen. They're perfect!

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True compassion.

When someone you know gets seriously ill, it's not always easy to come up with the right words to say or to find the right card to give.

Emily McDowell — a former ad agency creative director and the woman behind the Los Angeles-based greeting card and textile company Emily McDowell Studio — knew all too well what it was like to be on the receiving end of uncomfortable sentiments.

At the age of 24, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma. She went into remission after nine months of chemo and has remained cancer-free since, but she received her fair share of misplaced, but well-meaning, wishes before that.

On her webpage introducing the awesome cards you're about to see, she shared,

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After persevering through numerous medical conditions and surgeries in her own life, Elman realized a few years ago that body positivity wasn't just about size or weight. Things like scars, birthmarks, and anything else that makes us feel different of self-conscious have to be a part of the conversation, and she tries to make the movement accessible to everyone.

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via wakaflockafloccar / TikTok

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