The stars of The Acolyte have been reacting to the show’s cancelation, but the world has been waiting for star Amandla Stenberg to chime in. She finally did, and while she has great things to say about her co-workers, there’s another important part of her experience she wants to discuss.
The Acolyte’s Star Finally Speaks Out
Taking to her Instagram Story, Stenberg spoke about how she wasn’t surprised by The Acolyte‘s cancellation because of the initial reaction to the show being announced. “I’m going to be transparent and say it’s not a huge shock for me,” she said. “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. That’s when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language towards us.”
Stenberg even touched on the fact that she saw the hate coming but how anticipating it is much different than actually facing it. “And this really affected me when I first got the job. Even though I anticipated it happening, it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you,” she continued. “However, I feel like I’ve kinda moved through those feelings in various ways, including being vocal about it myself. For me, it just became a situation where there was no option but for me to honor my sense of ethics and my belief system and my value system while being in this very unique position.”
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Despite all the obstacles in her way, Stenberg still feels a sense of pride about bringing Osha and Mae to life in The Acolyte and appreciates all the fans who supported the show. “It has been an incredible honor and dream for me to be in this universe,” she said. “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 who are invested into 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.”
However, the fans weren’t the only ones in her corner, as she also took time to praise creator Leslye Headland. “I just f**uing love that b**ch,” Stenberg said. “She’s just one of the best people in the world. I think she’s so incredibly talented and unique, and I’ll love her forever, and I will love this experience with her forever.”
The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney+.