John Boyega Says He’s No Longer The ‘Elephant In The Room’ Following Disney’s Support Of Moses Ingram: ‘It’s Fantastic’ 

During a recent interview, John Boyega recalled his experience with racist backlash while starring in the “Star Wars” franchise.

While speaking with SiriusXM’s John Fugelsang, the British actor said that seeing Moses Ingram, who stars in the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series, “being protected” by Disney after racism was thrown at her, makes him “feel protected.”

READ MORE:
John Boyega On Speaking Out About ‘Star Wars’, Being A BLM Advocate: ‘This Is Who I Am’

“It makes me feel like, ‘Okay, cool. I am not the elephant in the room’ because when I started it, [it] wasn’t really a conversation you could bring up,” Boyega said, referring to when he called out Disney for race issues in “Star Wars”.

“You know how they [Disney] went through it. It was kind of like, let’s just be silent. It wasn’t a conversation you could bring up. But now to see how blatant it is, to see Ewan McGregor come and support it, for me, fulfils my time where I didn’t get the support,” he explained.

READ MORE:
John Boyega Is Excited About How ‘The Woman King’ With Viola Davis ‘Shines A Light On Black Women’s Talent’

“It doesn’t make me feel bitter at all. It makes me feel like sometimes you are that guy,” he continued. “Sometimes you’re not the guy to get the blessing and sometimes you are Moses, you know, you lead the people to the mountain, but you see the destination. You don’t get to go in, you get others to go in. And that’s where you get your happiness from. And for me to see other people accepted, and then at the same time to see that the studios now are like, ‘Okay, cool. This is not an “elephant in the room” conversation. We need to support our Black client.’ It’s fantastic.”

On whether or not he would play his character Finn again, Boyega shared, “At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it…. I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation.”

READ MORE:
John Boyega Was Surprised By Reaction To His ‘Star Wars’ Criticism: ‘Robert Pattinson Gets To Talk S— About His Films’

Elsewhere during the interview, Boyega told host Fugelsang that he didn’t plan to speak into a megaphone during his viral speech at a 2020 rally in London honouring George Floyd in the wake of his murder.

“I don’t know what came over me, man. I just had to say what was on my mind,” Boyega said, noting that he saw it as an opportunity to speak about “the responsibility we have as men” since that responsibility is “dwindling.”