Moses Ingram, unfortunately, is just one of many actors that have received hateful and racist comments from the most toxic of Star Wars “fans.” She addressed this on her Instagram stories, saying, “There’s nothing anybody can do about this. There’s nothing anybody can do to stop this hate. I question my purpose in even being here in front of you, saying that this is happening. I don’t really know.” Thankfully, not only did the official Star Wars Twitter account come out and speak against the racist hate she was receiving, but Ewan McGregor also defended his co-star, stating in a video, “If you send her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind.” It seems Moses is just as aware of her supporters that “Put on a cape for her in the comments,” giving her hope that not all is lost in the fandom passionate about their beloved Star Wars.

Another victim of racism from the small toxic fringe of Star Wars “fans,” Kelly Marie Tran had to get off social media to avoid the onslaught of racial hate she was receiving for her role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Although supported by co-stars John Boyega, Mark Hamill, and director Rian Johnson, the comments were so bad that she started to go “down a spiral of self-hate,” says the actor in an essay for the New York Times. The hate seemed to bring back past racist trauma she received growing up as a Vietnamese-American and made her feel marginalized again. In that same essay, she shows her resiliency and willingness to keep storytelling, stating, “I know that I now belong to a small group of privileged people who get to tell stories for a living, stories that are heard and seen and digested by a world that for so long has tasted only one thing. I know how important that is. And I am not giving up.”

Back in 2013, when Gal Gadot was first announced to play Wonder Woman, there were a lot of questions behind her hire, as her most prominent role at the time was playing Gisele in the Fast and Furious franchise. Sadly, most critiques behind the casting were based on her physique and, more specifically, her bust. The claim was that her thin physique and small chest weren’t “believable” for an Amazonian warrior, but a lasso that can compel people to tell the truth is. Right. Gadot tried to make light of the comments when going on Jimmy Kimmel to promote Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After hearing that Kimmel is also a comic book nerd, she asked frankly, “What do you think about my breasts?” Kimmel was taken completely surprised, and it led to a pretty funny awkward exchange between the two but was clearly something that Gadot hadn’t forgotten about. 

Last year, Candice spoke on Elliot Knight’s The Open Up podcast, where she touched on the massive amount of racist and misogynistic online abuse questioning her casting as Iris West on the long-running superhero show The Flash. She points out that there were no measures in place from the CW network to help mitigate any of the comments, saying, “It was just free range to get abused every single day. There were no social media protocols in place to protect me. They just let all that stuff sit there.” Candice’s experience with hateful fans was one thing, but she also had to deal with some things on set that are now being revealed since the series is ending. Though seemingly grateful for the opportunity given, she’s ready for the next chapter of her life, saying, “I’m coming out of a space of anxiety and depression and moving into a really enlightened place in my life where I feel really hopeful.”

In our third installment of “toxic Star Wars nerds attack,” we have Daisy Ridley, who was also a victim of online hate from those pesky trolls who believed she was too thin to play the hero Rey, and that she was setting “unrealistic expectations,” and that “real women have curves.” Ridley did not mince words in her response, initially stating in a post, “Real women’ are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave, have families, don’t have families. I am a ‘real woman’ like every other woman in this world.” Though she then deleted this post after realizing the OG author of the hateful comment’s tag was shown, and they started receiving nasty comments from her supporters. Ridley posted another statement, writing, “I will not apologize for how I look, what I say, and how I live my life ’cause what’s happening inside is much more important anyway, and I am striving to be the best version of myself, even if I stumble along the way.”

It’s a shame that it’s almost expected for there to be some uproar when a character gets their race swapped. However, Halle Bailey seemed ready for the backlash of her casting once she got the job. “As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” said Bailey in a new cover story for the Face. She elaborates more on representation, saying, “I know people are like, ‘It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her…people don’t understand that when you’re Black, there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves.” The Little Mermaid remake is coming out in a few months where she can show the world exactly why she was cast to play Ariel, and why POC need to be represented in film and television more often. 

Alicia Vikander seemed to have gotten the “Gal Gadot treatment” regarding her portrayal as Lara Croft as multiple “critics” seemed to comment on Vikander’s slim physique and “lack of curves.” Forgetting that Vikander put on pounds of muscle for the physically rigorous role, it seems some misogynistic “critics” felt it was vital that the character looks like the Playstation model they played in their youths right when puberty was hitting. Thankfully, fans were there for Vikander as multiple commentators got called out for their misogynistic critiques. 

After getting cast as Valkyrie for the MCU, Tessa was asked about how she dealt with the controversy, stating, “I think the only way to weather [the controversy] is to go [STICKS OUT TONGUE], honestly, and just do the work. And it’s twofold because there’s definitely an element of it where you go, ‘Okay that’s just racism so that’s cool’; I don’t mean ‘cool.’ [LAUGHTER] But we all know what that is, right? We’ve like been there, done that, like okay.” It’s absurd how actors of color understand that their casting news will always bring some sort of racial hate, though Tessa handles this all with grace and a sense of nonchalance that lets her do her job while seemingly not letting the noise get to her. 

One of the powerhouses in Hollywood, Viola Davis faced unnecessary criticism from other Black actors for her appearance. In a New York Times profile, they elaborate how Viola was offered How to Get Away with Murder, yet comments from fellow Black actors about her cut to the bone and had her questioning if she should take it. “A friend told her she overheard some male and female actors, all Black, saying she wasn’t pretty enough to pull it off,” the profile states. As we know, Viola took that job and delivered an incredible performance as Annalise Keating.

Anna Diop had to disable comments on her Instagram page once a group of racist “fans” saw that she’d be playing Starfire in Titans and decided to go to town on her comments. She responded quickly, writing, “Racist, derogatory, and/or cruel comments have nothing to do with the person on the receiving end of that abuse. And because I know this — I’m unfazed.” Yet again, droves of fans came out in her defense to make sure that this small community of racist trolls doesn’t speak for most fans excited to see her character in a live-action representation, to which she did an incredible job. This type of support for people receiving unwarranted hate always gives me hope in humanity.