Amandla Stenberg Blames ‘Hyper-Conservative Bigotry’ For ‘The Acolyte’ Being Canceled

“The Acolyte” actress Amandla Stenberg is speaking out in the aftermath of the Disney+ show’s cancellation, blaming its failure on “hyper-conservative” bigots.

The 25-year-old, who played Mae and Osha in the series, posted a lengthy video on Instagram Stories expressing her frustration. 

Blaming your shows failure on “hate from the alt-right” is crazy. The Acolyte sucked, was not marketed well, and suffered for it. Pair that with your video attacking fans and Leslye Headland’s awful writing- and you have yourself a FAILURE. Hollywood will blame FANS before they… pic.twitter.com/y51qZHlG8s

— Steph Anie (@mynerdyhome) August 28, 2024

“Our show, our ‘Star Wars’ show, has been canceled,” Stenberg said. “I’m going to be transparent and say it’s not a huge shock for me.”

Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.

She continued, “Of course, I live in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren’t aware, 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 hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language towards us.”

The actress said, “And, you know, this really affected me when I first got the job because it’s just not something, even though I anticipated it happening, it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you.”

Stenberg went on to describe how she “moved through” these feelings and ultimately felt a sense of gratitude for having worked on the project. The “Acolyte” star finally thanked her supporters. 

“And I just want to let those people know out there who supported us in that way, and supported us vocally in the face of all of the vitriol that we received, and the kind of the targeted attack I would say we received by the alt-right, just that you were deeply loved and appreciated, and it made this job all the worthwhile for me,” she concluded.

It was announced on August 19 that the series would not be renewed for a second season amid low ratings and lackluster reviews, as The Daily Wire previously reported. 

Before the series aired, director Leslye Headland announced that the show would be “coded queer.” Headland told The Advocate in 2021 that her goal was “to allow her own personal experiences as a queer woman shine through in the finished product.”

WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI

“There’s just no way that me being a queer woman is not going to be reflected in my work. I could try not to do it, but why would I? It just feels like a natural extension of what I do,” she said at the time.