The Acolyte’s Cancelation Was No Shock To Amandla Stenberg After “Rampage Of Vitriol”

Earlier this month, reports emerged that The Acolyte had been canceled after only a single season on Disney+. Lee Jung-jae, who played Jedi Master Sol on the series, expressed his surprise about The Acolyte’s fate. However, Amandla Stenberg–who headlined the show as twin sisters Osha and Mae–says that “it was not a huge shock” after the backlash that the series received from the time it was announced.

Via Deadline, Stenberg posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram Stories. “For those who aren’t aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it,” wrote Stenberg. She also related that “hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language” were directed towards her and the rest of the cast.

Stenberg previously acknowledged this backlash when she released an original song about it during the middle of The Acolyte’s season. But regardless of the vitriol she received, Stenberg reiterated her gratitude that she was given a chance to play in the Star Wars universe.

“I just have to say it has been an incredible honor and dream for me to be in this universe,” said Stenberg. “Even though, of course I’m very sad about the show being canceled, and I’m sad about us not being able to give people invested in it more, I still just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it and that people loved it and that people were so responsive.”

All eight episodes of The Acolyte are streaming on Disney+, but the series left a lot of unanswered questions and lingering threads that will likely never be resolved in live-action. It’s possible that some of these resolutions could come in a future story set during the High Republic era. But for now, it appears that The Acolyte won’t get a proper conclusion.