With the recent protests highlighting various instances of racial inequality following the death of George Floyd and other victims of police brutality, it could be nerve-wracking for some celebrities to take a stand and voice their opinion. Star Wars star John Boyega has demonstrated that, even while he fearing professional blowback, speaking up is incredibly important during this current crisis. And Hollywood directors like Jordan Peele have pledged to support John Boyega’s career, taking to social media to boost his message.
Jordan Peele himself shared photos of Boyega’s participation in a London protest on behalf of Black Lives Matter, with a simple but strong caption in his Twitter post. Boyega spoke to fear of his acting career suffering as as result of his activism, to which Peele responded:
We Got You John.
It didn’t take long for plenty of other Hollywood talents to jump to the aid of John Boyega, who made his first big splash in the Edgar Wright produced film Attack The Block. And a lot of that continued support stemmed from a further tweet put into the world by Matthew A. Cherry, the Academy Award winner who was part of the team behind this year’s winning animated short, Hair Love. Cherry stoked the fires with this contribution to the conversation:
I would work with John Boyega and I urge other Non-Black creators to affirm that they have his back as well.
From there, a lot of big names stood tall and answered Cherry’s call for Non-Black creators to help promote further diversity in show business. And the people that got on board are exactly the sorts of talents you’d imagine would be on board with such a noble cause. Our first case in point is Phil Lord, whose writing/directing/producing efforts have made projects such as Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse into blockbusters that promote such ideals as “anyone can wear the mask”:
Then there’s Charlie’s Angels director Elizabeth Banks, who not only supports John Boyega’s continued career, but has also pushed equality between the sexes with her directing career.
Much like Ms. Banks, Paul Feig’s work towards more diverse representation on screen has been seen in his more small scale films like A Simple Favor, but also in big budget projects like 2016’s Ghostbusters: Answer The Call. He too is ready to keep the world swimming in Boyega content:
Not content to merely voice her approval of potentially working with John Boyega, Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde had a further message of encouragement for Boyega’s more socially conscious efforts:
But of course, it’s not just John Boyega’s amazing efforts in films like the sequel trilogy of Star Wars, and other movies like Detroit and Pacific Rim: Uprising that have kept him in the public consciousness. When it comes to Hamilton and In The Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pledge to work with Boyega, that desires reaches back to his performance as Attack The Block’s Moses:
Oh god I WISH, Ojalá! From Attack The Block to this day!
Perhaps the most powerful message of support for John Boyega’s actions came from Lucasfilm itself. While Boyega may have been worried about his former employers having his back should any future projects come up, the following response to his actions should clear any doubt he or his fans may have on the matter:
When an actor can speak up to a matter like racial inequality, or any sort of inequality for that matter, they should still be able to work without repercussion. John Boyega’s efforts should be applauded, especially when attracting the well-wishes of such a likeminded crew of talent.
Should you want to watch Attack The Block, it’s available for free on PlutoTV.
