Was Amandla Stenberg fired from ‘The Acolyte?’

I will be the first to say that The Acolyte is very far from flawless; that is something we should all be capable of acknowledging without foaming at the mouth over the presence of human beings in this show.

Is the dialogue great? No, not really. Are the performances impressive? Here and there, but no, not generally. Is it perfectly able—even genuinely solid—popcorn entertainment (aka the exact identity that the original Star Wars film intended on being)? Yes, absolutely. Now, go get acquainted with reality, maybe pick up a hobby or two, and queue up some Star Wars on Disney Plus (perhaps one of the shows or films you don’t dislike, because that’s a thing you can do) when you’re finished detaching yourself from nonsensical rumors.

Folks, Amandla Stenberg hasn’t been fired from The Acolyte; their recent Instagram post—in which they responded to all the unhinged backlash (which, again, is entirely different from routine criticism, and is very blatant in its bad faith) that they and the show in general have received with a fully choreographed music video—is yesterday’s news, and is a very small, inconsequential drop in the bucket of their career. It certainly had no impact on their Star Wars prospects whatsoever, especially considering how equally fed-up Kathleen Kennedy is with the people whose biggest problem in their lives is a show that they absolutely do not have to watch.

And for those of you who fit that description, I see you; you need an outlet for some nebulous, deep-seated anger, and The Acolyte is just creaky enough that you feel justified in heaping all of it towards this show. Trust me, this will not make you feel better, and if you take the time to look inward and unpack that anger a bit more sincerely, you’re going to end up being a lot less reactive to space lesbians, and having a lot more gratitude for life in general. I believe in you.