The Acolyte’s Amandla Stenberg is being bullied on her social media account, and this behavior needs to be called out.

Disney+ And The Cinema Society Host A Screening Of "The Acolyte"

Though Lucasfilm continues to maintain silence over news of The Acolyte‘s cancellation, Star Wars fans are anything but silent.

Some fans are devastated, some are sad for fans who were looking forward to more of The Acolyte, and some are pretty glad it’s canceled. Despite their disappointment, many fans who didn’t enjoy the series have empathized with those who loved it. It’s okay to have different emotions about this news if you were or weren’t a fan of the series.

What’s not acceptable is to be a bully.

There’s a section of the fandom that we hope no one ever runs into, especially the actors who were a part of the series and just tried to do their jobs. These fans bring shame to every Star Wars fan, and they’ve been trolling lead actress Amandla Stenberg mercilessly on Instagram. I will not get into the kinds of comments they’ve left, mainly because they’re all the same. They’re all mean-spirited and come from people who are taking sadistic pleasure in a show being canceled.

Warning: Some of the images below have swearing in them.

It’s shameful behavior and makes Star Wars fans look bad. It does have its consequences when certain filmmakers ultimately choose not to take up a Star Wars project that’s been offered for fear of backlash. For an actor, especially a woman of color, who aspires to be a part of Star Wars one day, it must be very alarming to see how people can turn on you when all you try to do is entertain them. I’m not sure if Star Wars will comment about the situation or if Amandla has notified them, but chances are they’ve gotten wind of what’s happening. When Moses Ingram faced racist backlash for her role in Obi-Wan Kenobi, she spoke out against it, and the official Star Wars accounts responded by sharing a video featuring Ewan McGregor condemning the bullying as unacceptable. However, with The Acolyte series now canceled, I fear a similar show of support may not happen again.

Actors never deserve to be bullied this way because they’re ultimately just enacting what’s written on a script. As an actor, it’s painful enough when your work is rejected, so having it rubbed in by the fandom probably makes it much worse. Please don’t stoop this low because it leaves a mark on the actors on the receiving end of such bullying forever. Take the high road and move on instead of repeating the cycle of bullying that several other Star Wars actors have gone through. Whether it’s Jon Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Daisy Ridley, Hayden Christensen, Ahmed Best, or Jake Lloyd, fans have been mean to Star Wars actors in the past as well. Some get over it, some don’t, but it leaves a mark on everyone.

Grow up, Star Wars fans. There’s more to the world than a TV show or a movie you didn’t like. It’s time we realized that actors are also human beings with emotions, and the least we can do is learn to respect them, regardless of what we think of their work. If you’re glad The Acolyte is canceled, throw a damn party, but leave the actors alone! As the saying goes, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”