The official Star Wars Twitter account has offered support for Krystina Arielle, the host of the upcoming Star Wars: The High Republic Show, after she received racial abuse online.
Tweets by Arielle surfaced of her speaking about the role white people play in upholding racism.
She then started receiving racist abuse, and accusations of being racist.
But Star Wars tweeted in support of her, stating: “Our Star Wars community is one of hope and inclusivity”.
Our Star Wars community is one of hope and inclusivity. We do not stand for bullying and racism. We support @KrystinaArielle.
— Star Wars (@starwars) January 23, 2021
Ms Arielle was recently announced as the host of The High Republic Show, an upcoming web series about Star Wars: The High Republic, a new subseries of the Star Wars media franchise.
She came under attack after social media users resurfaced numerous old tweets, mostly from last year when protests where taking place around the world in support of Black Lives Matter.
In some of her past tweets, Arielle references white people while giving opinions on systemic racism. In one, she states: “Just a reminder that white women are just as complicit in upholding and enforcing white supremacy.”
And I was in such a good mood.
White People: You do not get to absolve people of racism. You do not get to point out their “Growth” when they say black lives matter after treating us as if we don’t. You don’t get to accept apologies on our behalf. That shouldn’t need to be said— Krystina Arielle 🦖 (@KrystinaArielle) June 5, 2020
“The last 24 hours have been … not the greatest,” she tweeted on Saturday, along with screenshots of highly offensive, racist messages.
But many have spoken out in support of Arielle, while the hashtag #IStandWithKrystina started trending on Twitter.
Matthew Mercer, host of the Critical Role podcast, which has featured her, said: “There are few as bright, badass and altogether wonderful as [Krystina Arielle], and anyone who tries to step into her ring better know we’re right there beside her.”
