Some celebrities choose to take their considerable influence and stay silent, but John Boyega is definitely not one of those. Forget all that he does as part of Star Wars, he’s just not someone known for keeping quiet when he’s got something to say. That has been especially true following the reactions to The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. But more crucially, it’s true now as Boyega has chosen to speak out in support of Black Lives Matter and against racism.
You may have already seen it or heard about it, but Boyega attended a protest in London’s Hyde Park and he didn’t mince words on his feelings about the police brutality and racism that led to the death of George Floyd and has all black people under threat.
You can watch the his impassioned speech in full below, but here’s just a little of what Boyega had to say…
“I’m speaking to you from my heart. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but fuck that,” said Boyega. “Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process, we don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones.”
What Boyega says about his career is key, because he could very easily see backlash for standing with Black Lives Matter. Somehow in our polarized society it’s controversial to side with those who simply ask that black people not be killed by those in power. He could easily see the same kind of backlash that Colin Kaepernick was met with. Even more, Boyega has a business relationship with Disney that could be put in jeopardy.
But it turns out, Lucasfilm is actually on Boyega’s side here. The official Lucasfilm Twitter account showed him some love, labeling him a “hero” in the process. Good stuff by all around, but especially Boyega for doing the right thing no matter what the consequences might be.
We stand with and support you, @JohnBoyega. View his full speech: https://t.co/Goxb5y2wrK pic.twitter.com/ZvE0t5tRPY
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 3, 2020
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