The Star Wars franchise and Obi-Wan Kenobi stars reached out in support of actress Moses Ingram after she faced racism online following her debut as Third Sister in the Disney+ series, and they’re not the only ones. In a show of solidarity, Anson Mount, a star of the rival franchise via Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, reached across the aisle to support Ingram and send a message that intolerance is not acceptable.
Anson Mount took to social media to show some support for Moses Ingram after the actress revealed that she’d received hundreds of racist messages since her debut on Obi-Wan Kenobi. Mount, who Paramount+ subscribers can see regularly by watching the acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, shared a photo of Ingram on social media while assuring her that he and the Trek community have her back:
The post gained a lot of support on social media, including those in the Star Trek fandom. In fact, the official Trek account commented on Anson Mount’s post and sent a message of support to Moses Ingram and Star Wars:
There's no place for bigotry in any universe. @_mosesingram @starwars
It’s no surprise at all that Star Trek was quick to side with Star Wars, even with the “rivalry" between the two franchises. IDIC, or “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations,” is the basis of Vulcan philosophy and a concept that the Trek franchise has pushed since its very beginnings. Even if there is some rivalry in terms of which is the superior science-fiction franchise, the two can agree that racism is not something either fanbase should have to tolerate.
It’s also worth noting that while there might be some debate online between Star Wars and Star Trek fans, the rivalry is more or less a thing of the past for many. After all, who wouldn’t want to chase a new episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi with an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds the following day? All sci-fi fans, regardless of universe preference, should come together, perhaps as Anson Mount suggested in his tweet:
@StarTrek fam is @starwars fam. 💪🖖❤️ https://t.co/R2EK5okr7bMay 31, 2022
Anson Mount’s statement echoes sentiments from a video message from Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor, who condemned the racist comments about Moses Ingram. McGregor called the messages “horrendous” and said that seeing some of the messages that Ingram received broke his heart. Ingram is just the latest Star Wars star to face racism from the fandom, and sequel trilogy actors Kelly Marie Tran and John Boyega faced the same. Hopefully, actors and franchises continuing to reach out will help reduce the cruel commentary on social media.
Obi-Wan Kenobi streams new episodes on Disney+ on Wednesdays, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Those not too familiar with the latter should get acquainted, as I believe it’s a perfect entry point for those looking to get into Star Trek.
