Leslye Headland Says Bigots Are Not True Star Wars Fans: “I Stand By Empathy”
It’s not a secret that Star Wars fandom is facing sort of a social crisis. In recent times, much of the focus of the franchise has been put on female leads and representation within live-action projects. Some fans consider it to be a good thing, while some are criticizing that direction.
The reasons behind the criticism are numerous, some fans are genuinely misogynistic, but a vast majority feel that the female and minority representation feels forced and therefore falls flat and bland, being there just for the sake of being there, which makes the overall products all that worse.
The upcoming release of ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte once again polarized fandom, with some of the fans criticizing the show for being female-led and spreading the agenda and part of the fandom praising the continued direction of Star Wars. Recently, Kathleen Kennedy said that it’s terrifying to be female in Star Wars, and now Leslye Headland chimed in saying that bigots can never be Star Wars fans in her recent interview with the New York Times.
As a fan myself, I know how frustrating some ‘Star Wars’ storytelling in the past has been … I stand by my empathy for ‘Star Wars’ fans. But I want to be clear. Anyone who engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech … I don’t consider a fan”
George Lucas recently responded to comments that the first six movies were white-centric and male-centric, Lucas responded that the characters in question are aliens and that some of the most important characters in the franchise are female, and also that it was never intended to be political.
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