John Boyega felt he had to 'speak up' about racism
John Boyega has explained why he chose to speak up about his experiences of racism.
John Boyega doesn't regret speaking out about the racism he experienced after joining 'Star Wars'.
The 33-year-old actor was cast as Finn in the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy, and John felt it was important to speak out about the racist abuse that he endured after joining the film franchise.
The London-born actor told Us Weekly: "I just didn’t like it. It just went against my point of view.
"I thought that, in my position, it’s great for people to know how we are related to this. As much as I’m in this position, I still have family friends who are in the real world; [not] in this Hollywood bubble. They get affected by these issues.
"So to not speak up about it, in my position, that made no real sense to me."
John has been able to lean on several mentors during his time in the movie business.
The actor shared: "There’s been Robert Downey Jr, who’s mentored me. I would say Jamie Foxx, who mentored me. Femi [Oguns], my agent. My father, Samson Boyega.
"So many people over the years, but [many of them] happened to be good black men and women who have gone to spaces that I haven’t necessarily gone to. Then, sharing their wisdom from there.'"
John spoke out about the racism that he experienced during an interview with GQ magazine in 2020.
The movie star said at the time: "I’m the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race. Let’s just leave it like that.
"It makes you angry with a process like that. It makes you much more militant; it changes you. Because you realize, ‘I got given this opportunity but I’m in an industry that wasn’t even ready for me.’ Nobody else in the cast had people saying they were going to boycott the movie because [they were in it]."
