Star Wars fans ‘disappointed’ by Daisy Ridley’s privilege comments
The actress denied being more privileged than her co-star John Boyega, despite attending boarding school
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Fans have expressed their ‘disappointment’ after Daisy Ridley, who plays the lead role of Rey in the latest Star Wars film trilogy, denied that she was at all privileged.
In a series of comments that have been slammed as tone-deaf, Ridley, who was privately educated for nine years and whose grandfather was the BBC’s head of the engineering, said that she was no more privileged than her co-star John Boyega, who has spoken about applying for a hardship fund to join Theatre Peckham.
“The privilege I have – how? No, genuinely, how?,” the Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker star countered when the topic was brought up in her interview with The Guardian.
“Well no, because, no… John grew up on a council estate in Peckham and I think me and him are similar enough that… no.”
She attributed her confidence in the spotlight to having a “chatty” family, before adding: “I’m not saying what you’re saying is wrong. I’ve just never been asked that before, so I’m like, oh. I don’t think so.”
A fan wrote that she was “disappointed but not suprised by daisy ridley” following the article’s release on Saturday.
disappointed but not suprised by daisy ridley, these are the results you get when you create a context in which upper-middle class get to succeed & the privilege is especially apparent in the UKs performance industry https://t.co/6ckooz87x8
— CEO of Keanu Reeves (@existingfornow) December 8, 2019
disappointed in daisy ridley but hoping she could learn from her ignorance
— c.???? (@maulsrobolegs) December 7, 2019
“One of the most appalling things abt this daisy ridley interview is that in her 4yrs of headlining one of the biggest franchises on earth, this is, so painfully evidently, the very first time anyone has truly invited her to critically confront & examine her own privilege,” another fan posted.
one of the most appalling things abt this daisy ridley interview is that in her 4yrs of headlining one of the biggest franchises on earth, this is, so painfully evidently, the very first time anyone has truly invited her to critically confront & examine her own privilege.
— ham yoyo ???????? (@scifibis) December 7, 2019
“Daisy Ridley refusing to accept that she’s privileged because she had private education and her dads an OBE….is not it chief. Just say yes and go,” a fan posted on Twitter.
Daisy Ridley refusing to accept that she’s privileged because she had private education and her dads an OBE….is not it chief. Just say yes and go
— fruit o’ loom innit ???? (@lambbhuuuna) December 8, 2019
Do you Ridley’s comments were tone-deaf? Or do you think they’ve been blown out of proportion?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released in UK cinemas on 19th December 2019
