John Boyega Won't Be Silenced After Speaking Up About Racism

Source: Lia Toby / Getty

John Boyega is known for his onscreen displays of bravery with his role as Finn in the Star Wars franchise but he showed true heart Wednesday, speaking out against racism following the killing of George Floyd by a white (former) police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis Monday….

It all started on Twitter where Boyega declared “I really f***ing hate racists.

Boyega met with some resistance from Twitter users, some who cautioned him to remember his audience and others who felt the need to point out that blacks aren’t the only group who face racism… He responded to some of the comments making it quite clear he wouldn’t be silenced or frustrated by outside voices.

One particular man let Boyega know that while he agreed, he wasn’t a fan of the explicit language and invoked the name of the company cutting some of John’s biggest checks:

John, I agree that racists are terrible. However, the language in this tweet is unsettling. My 8 year old son looks up to you. I don’t know if I can allow you to be his role model if this continues. I wonder how @Disney feels about this. God bless.

Boyega wasn’t backing down even at the mention of Disney, responding, “I understand your choice and unfortunately wouldn’t change anything I said. Your his biggest role model and that’s what counts. I ain’t about all that. Also I have parents so no need to report to Disney. They are for Buisness. Thanks x”.

Another commenter appeared to be there to troll Boyega over the comments saying

So you hate a group of people who hate a group of people…..

Pat yourself on the back. Thumbs up

Boyega clapped back at him:

Gimli shhh

When the man persisted, so did Boyega:

So you are trying to insult me based on my appearance.

Sounds familiar ……..oh yeah thats what racists do.

Will meet you by Mordor with the rest of the mandem. See you soon bro! We will get that ring! Bye!

It’s actually pretty dope how he kept his cool through it all.

It’s also pretty sad to see the chorus of ignorance who seemed to miss the point entirely.

Another commenter said, “Nobody loves racists. I’m from Nigeria my ex said she hates whites so I broke up with her.”

To which Boyega replied, “I am talking about WHITE on BLACK racism. The kind that has ruined the world not caused a lil break up with your girlfriend.”

Here are a few more of the tweets

We couldn’t help but crack up at “in a nice way with a soft creamy voice”

Boyega eventually took his frustrations to Instagram where he chatted with fans and spoke eloquently at times and with rage at others. He’s made waves mostly for saying the following:

“It’s very very important at this time that we ignore ignorance, and we ignore people that come through and try to make these stations what they’re not,” Boyega said, adding, “A black man was just murdered in cold blood, in the streets, Stateside, again, while saying that he can’t breathe.”

“So I’ll say it again: F–k you racist white people. I said what I said. And if you don’t f–king like it, go suck a d–k. Seriously.”

Powerful words for sure.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, Boyega’s parents were also very proud of his passionate remarks.

What do you think of Boyega’s comments? Do you think he’ll get a phone call from his agent or the folks at Disney over them? Is it possible to separate an actors take on social issues from his career? We personally will support him in anything he does. We think it’s great that he’s not another Hollywood type, too worried about what other people think and so scared for financial security that he’s silent about social issues.