Summary
Now that Disney has officially canceledThe Acolyteafter just one season, some of the people who worked on the project are speaking out about how the show was handled. At least one actress is also speaking out about how she feels the company showed support, or lack thereof, for the people who were feeling the brunt of viewers' criticism, which seemingly led to the cancelation of the series.
The Acolytewas officially canceled because of poor ratings, andsome horrible critical reviews. However, Jodie Smith-Turner thinks that even if the ratings were poor enough that it was time for the company to bail out on theStar Warsspinoff, the entertainment giant should have stepped up and stopped the attacks she saw on herself and many of her castmates on social media. Specifically she felt as though the company didn’t fire back at all when things started getting personal because the audience didn’t like the direction of the story or the focus on the characters, many of which are new to theStar Warsuniverse, at least on screen.
The Acolyte Actor Blasts Disney For Lack Of Support
Smith-Turner let herfeelings be knownduring a wide-ranging interview withGlamour. When the topic turned to fans' behavior, she let loose on the company and put it on blast. “They’ve got to stop doing this thing where they don’t say anything when people are getting f— dog-piled on the internet with racism and bulls—,” she said. She added that she found it really unfair that Disney - as she put it - didn’t do anything.
Smith-Turner went on to say that she felt it would be “nice” if the people who had the money and had the power would make their voices known. She said that either the studio of the producers who werein charge ofThe Acolytehad spoken up and started talking about how the treatment of the actors in the show simply wasn’t acceptable. Smith-Turner added that she thought if Disney had really put its foot down and told the people who were raging after herself and her castmates, the opposite reaction they expected would have happened.
She believes the show and Disney might have actually gotten more money and seen more success if they had stood up against the bullying and hate. Because people who are normally the targets of that kind of behavior have an impressive degree of buying power.
Smith-Turner hopes that there might be some good coming out of this situation. The actor hopes that people will see that this kind of behavior isn’t right. Some of that is based on the fact that there was apush for a Season 2onceThe Acolytewas canceled. It might be too late for that show, but the veteran actor believes there might be more pushback from people who are in charge of these kinds of programs. She added that the people who took so many slings and arrows after Season 1 aren’t giving up just because social media bullies are saying horrible things. “We’re never going to f— stop participating.”
