Toxic fandom attached to major movies is an unfortunate reality, and a recent interview by actor John Boyega highlights its effects. Boyega spoke about his experience being part of the Star Wars franchise during an interview for the Apple TV+ documentary, Number One on The Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, pointing out the racism he experienced while filming the sequel trilogy.

“Lemme tell ya, ‘Star Wars’ always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something,” Boyega says in the documentary. “You can always tell it’s something when some ‘Star Wars’ fans try to say, ‘Well, we had Lando Calrissian and had Samuel L. Jackson!’ It’s like telling me how many cookie chips are in the cookie dough. It’s like, they just scattered that in there, bro!”

The 33-year-old was cast as Finn, a stormtrooper with the First Order who defects to join the resistance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. His initial appearance in the first trailer for the film sparked an immediate hostile backlash which included racial animosity. He’d reprise the role in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. “They’re okay with us playing the best friend, but once we touch their heroes, once we lead, once we trailblaze, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s just a bit too much! They’re pandering,’” he continued, acknowledging that being cast as Finn was a “fundamental moment” for his career at that time.

Boyega has been outspoken about his turbulent experience while filming the Star Wars movie before, notably in a GQ interview in 2020. But in an interview with The Hollywood Report two years later, he opened up about his “very transparent conversation” with a Disney executive. They gave me a chance also to explain what my experience was like. I’d hope that me being so open with my career, at this stage, would help the next man, the guy that wants to be the assistant DOP, the guy that wants to be a producer. I hope that the conversation is not such a taboo or elephant in the room now, because someone just came and said it,” he said.