Leslye Headland, the creator of the critical and ratings disaster Star Wars: The Acolyte, is lashing out at “racist and sexist” Star Wars fans, and blames them, at least in part, for the quick and brutal cancellation of her lousy show:
You don’t have to tell me who’s talking about it or how bad it is online, I know exactly who they are. I supported them on Patreon. There are some of them that I respect, and there are some of them that I think are absolutely snake oil salesmen, just opportunists. Then, of course, there are the fascists and racists. So it runs a gamut. It isn’t just one thing or the other. So I think that if you’re in part of the fandom, you understand the genre and the tone of particular channels and creators. So in some ways I wasn’t surprised, and then in other ways I was disappointed. I think you always do that when you create something, it’s just that “Star Wars” is on a massive level of visibility.
…
It revealed to me that there is a misunderstanding between the studios and that engagement. They think of it as fandom, and in ways it is, but studios use it almost like a focus group.
The Wrap article itself also makes accusations of racism.
Here’s the thing, though…
And here’s the only thing that matters…
Neither Headland nor the Wrap offers a single example to back up their malicious and defamatory claims. Not one quote. Not one name. Nothing. Nada.
Why would you not offer up examples to back up your “racist and sexist” allegations?
I’ll tell you why… Because other than no-names on X or commenting on YouTube, there is no evidence, and if the Wrap or Headland were to cite their “evidence,” it would undermine their allegations. All they would have are ridiculous examples like: “Obi ButtKenobi69 said this in the comments for the YouTube trailer” or “Darth InvadeHer said that to his 22 followers on X” or “Princess LaidMeOnTatooine blah, blah, blah…”
It’s not your fans that suck, Leslye… It’s you who sucks. It’s your show that sucks. No, I didn’t watch it. I didn’t have to. Even a child understands the following rule about entertainment: If you can’t cobble together two minutes of appealing material for a trailer, the TV show or movie will suck in a way that makes suck say, “That sucks.”
“The gayest Star Wars yet”?
Lesbian space witches created the Jedi?
That’s what Headland force-fed Star Wars fans. And then after she deliberately alienated and provoked the fan base, she still has the stones to claim she’s a Star Wars fan. No, you’re not a Star Wars fan. Rather, you’re a typical AWFL — an all-about-me narcissist who hates Star Wars, so when you had the power, you woke-i-fied it into something more to your liking (see also: Kennedy, Kathleen).
Headland is not the first Acolyte veteran to blame the fans. The star of the show did it. Headland herself pretty much said the same thing last year.
This is everything you need to know about the failure of Headland and Kathleen Kennedy and overall Hollywood in a single paragraph….
In a country of 330 million people, all it takes to claim you have a hit TV show is six million viewers. That’s it — six lousy million. You can make the weekly top ten most-watched TV shows with as few as 7.7 million live +7 (meaning, watched the show within a week) viewers. Look at the live +7 for the top show — 11 million viewers. Don’t blame streaming. A mere 25 years ago, when people had 100 cable channels, internet, video games, and Blockbuster Video (oh, and decent movies in theaters), 25 million people watched Friends. That’s not live +7 either. That’s live. If you got a customer base of 330 million and your top show can’t attract even four percent of them, you suck. Hollywood sucks. The Acolyte sucked.
Do you know how many people watch that “cultural phenomenon” Law & Order: Special Victims Unit every week? Fewer than four million.
But do go on blaming us customers.
Don’t ever change, Woke Hollywood, because watching you perverts and weirdos and haters flame out and hit the ground in a fit of crybabying is a helluva lot more entertaining than your lousy product.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
