Crieff star Ewan McGregor has sent a sincere thank you to Star Wars fans for making Obi-Wan Kenobi a huge hit after it became the most-watched premiere for an original Disney Plus series.
But the Hollywood actor, who plays the title character, also came out in support of series co-star Moses Ingram who has received “hundreds” of racist messages on social media.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, McGregor condemned the abusers saying “if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan”.
In the new Disney Plus series, Ingram plays the Third Sister, Reva Sevander, who is tasked by Darth Vader to hunt McGregor’s Kenobi.
On Tuesday on Instagram she shared examples of the racist abuse directed at her on social media since the show began, including one saying her “days are numbered” and another calling her a “diversity hire”.
Afterwards a video message from McGregor was shared on the official Star Wars Twitter account, in which he strongly condemned the abuse.
He started by saying: “This weekend Star Wars fans made Obi-Wan Kenobi the most watched Disney Plus original series premiere of all time.
“And for that I would say a big thank you and it just goes to show what this family can do when we all pull together.”
He then added: “However, it seems that some of the fan base has decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most horrendous, racist DMs [direct messages].
“I heard some of them this morning, and it just broke my heart.
“Moses is a brilliant actor.
“She is a brilliant woman. And she is absolutely amazing in this series.
“She brings so much to the series, she brings so much to the franchise.
“And it just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening.
“I just want to say, as the lead actor in the series, as the executive producer on the series, that we stand with Moses.
“We love Moses. And if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind.
“There’s no place for racism in this world.
“And I totally stand with Moses.”
A message from the official Star Wars Twitter account reads: “We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold.
“If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.”
