The Acolyte star says the cancelation was "not a huge shock" and calls out "rampage of vitriol" against the Star Wars show

The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg has addressed the cancelation of the show. The actor played both Mae and Osha in the series. 

News broke that the Star Wars show would not be returning earlier in the month despite season 1 ending on a cliffhanger, with the decision put down to lack of viewership.

"There are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge, and I want to show appreciation and love and support for, so that's why I'm hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our Star Wars show has been canceled," Stenberg shared on their Instagram Story (H/T Deadline). 

"And I'm going to be transparent and say that it's not a huge shock for me," 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.

"And that's when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred and hateful language towards us. 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."

She added: "Even though, of course I'm very sad about the show being canceled, and I'm sad about us not being able to give people invested in it more, I still just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it and that people loved it and that people were so responsive." The actor also thanked Lucasfilm and shared love for showrunner Leslye Headland. 

Squid Game actor Lee Jung-jae, who starred in The Acolyte as Master Sol, has said he was "surprised" at the show being canceled. Headland has previously indicated that she had plans beyond season 1 for more. 

Next up for live-action Star Wars is Skeleton Crew, which begins on Disney Plus this December 4. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else that's in the works.