Topline
Anti-“woke” critics have slammed a scene from the newest episode of the “Star Wars” TV series “The Acolyte” in which a character appears to ask about another’s pronouns, prompting the writer to clarify the joke on social media as the controversial series continues to face a review-bombing campaign.
"The Acolyte" has been subjected to a review-bombing campaign on Rotten Tomatoes. (Photo by Kate ... [+]
Key Facts
Episode 4 of “The Acolyte,” a series praised by critics but controversial among some “Star Wars” fans and conservative critics who feel the show is too “woke,” premiered on Tuesday evening.
Anti-“woke” critics circulated one scene from the episode in which actress Amandla Stenberg’s character asks another: “Is he, or they, with us?” referring to Bazil, a small rodent-like animal creature.
The Daily Wire, a conservative media outlet, and right-wing X account End Wokeness, frequent critics of “The Acolyte,” posted the scene on X, with the latter slamming the series for including a “a they/them pronoun scene.”
Claire “CK” Kiechel, co-writer of the episode, clarified in an X post that the line was “obviously a joke about pronouns because she’s referring to a strange lil animal creature.”
The viral clips posted by conservative critics on social media are short and do not include a shot of Bazil—possibly misleading viewers of the clip to believe Stenberg is asking about a person’s pronouns, rather than the animal creature.
Key Background
“The Acolyte” has attracted controversy throughout its run and sparked criticism from anti-“woke” critics who have launched a review-bombing campaign of the series. Though the series has an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes from television critics, the audience score is a dismal 14%. Amid the series’ launch earlier this month, an interview of Stenberg and series creator Leslye Headland went viral as the interviewer joked they made the “gayest” entry in the “Star Wars” franchise, prompting Stenberg and Headland to laugh. Stenberg said, “Star Wars is so gay already—I mean, have you seen the ‘fits?” while Headland joked R2-D2 could be a lesbian. The third episode, which premiered on June 11, rattled fans who felt the episode clashed with “Star Wars” lore. In the episode, Stenberg’s twin characters, Mae and Osha Aniseya, are implied to have been born by their mother using the Force—causing some fans to lament that may conflict with the accepted canon of “Star Wars” character Anakin Skywalker’s status as the “chosen one,” as he was also born by the Force. Other fans defended the episode, including ScreenRant’s “Star Wars” editor Thomas Bacon, who wrote Skywalker was born through the will of the Force itself, while Mae and Osha’s mother manipulated the Force to create them.
Tangent
The fourth episode sparked another fan debate over whether “The Acolyte” broke accepted “Star Wars” canon because of a cameo appearance from Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Jedi character who appears in the “Star Wars” prequel films. Some fans alleged the character’s inclusion did not make sense, as the events of “The Acolyte” take place a century prior to the prequel films, while others felt his true age was never actually known. Kiechel addressed critics of the character’s cameo on X, joking: “We offered the part to Yoda but he wasn’t tech avail so a young Ki Adi Mundi stepped in for the part.”
