John Boyega Gets Criticized For “Abrupt” Exit From ‘Rebel Ridge’ While White Men Thrive From Toxic Behavior On Set

And let’s not forget: Jeremy Saulnier, the director of Rebel Ridge exited the third season of True Detective after only directing two episodes and reportedly clashing with show creator Nic Pizzolatto. No one made a big deal out of that. Saulnier was not called difficult nor did anyone bat an eyelash. He is still working, obviously.

If you talk about John Boyega, you better put respect on his name.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Star Wars actor “abruptly” exited the Netflix production of Rebel Ridge. The streaming giant said that he exited “for family reasons”. THR went on to say that their sources told them that there wasn’t a specific incident that caused his exit but “insiders” say that Boyega “had myriad issues ranging from the script to his accommodations.”

You see where this is going? It’s clear that THR is framing this as an “angry Black man” narrative, leading readers to believe that he is “difficult”. This is a similar tune in how media covered Gabrielle Union‘s issues with America’s Got Talent and even everything Ray Fisher had to deal with regarding Joss Whedon and The Justice League. And let’s not forget the image media and the French Open painted of Naomi Osaka after she just wanted to practice self-care. And let’s not forget what the Roland Garros Twitter account posted after Osaka refused to do French Open press.

THR‘s use of the term “abrupt” automatically makes us think that Boyega was the problem when, in fact, it’s just that Hollywood system. How many times have we heard of incidents where white men have been toxic and problematic on set with their behavior? Case in point: David O. Russell. His list of trash behavior is extensive. Also, remember when Christian Bale threw that tantrum on the set of Terminator Salvation? Then there was Tom Cruise’s COVID rant on the set of the latest Mission: Impossible movie, which wasn’t as toxic, but still relevant. This is only the start of Hollywood’s long list of problematic white men in power: there’s Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, and most recently Scott Rudin.

The criticism and dragging of these white men is very present, but for the most part, there doesn’t seem to be any long-term ramifications. I mean, Weinstein is pretty much done, but it took a huge army to take him down — and he managed to thrive whilst he was treating women horribly. And although it is an open secret that Russell  has had many on-set problems, he continues to make high-profile films. His latest project includes Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Robert De Niro, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Taylor Swift and the aforementioned Mr. Bale.

True to its brand, Hollywood is more lenient when it comes to white men when it comes to bad behavior. It’s a slap on the wrist. When it comes to people of color — specifically Black people, it becomes a major problem therefore adding to the inequality underrepresented voices in film and TV.

In regards to his “abrupt” exit, Boyega’s London-based agent, Femi Oguns, told THR: “I can categorically say that these rumours are completely untrue,” he wrote. “People will form their opinions often rooted from boredom. As stated John unfortunately left due to family reasons which in truth is none of anyone’s business except his own. John and Netflix have a wonderful relation which will continue to grow for years to come whether that be through his acting or through [Boyega’s production company] UpperRoom.”

With Boyega’s very vocal stance on the Black Lives Matter movement and was very candid about the mistreatment of people of color cast in the Star Wars franchise. That said, after the news of Boyega’s exit from Rebel Ridge, he lost hie verification on Twitter. His tweets from the last seven months were deleted. This leads us to believe that Hollywood is trying to blacklist the actor. I mean, did Russell or Bale get the same treatment?

And let’s not forget: Jeremy Saulnier, the director of Rebel Ridge exited the third season of True Detective after only directing two episodes and reportedly clashing with show creator Nic Pizzolatto. No one made a big deal out of that. Saulnier was not called difficult nor did anyone bat an eyelash. He is still working, obviously.

Since all of this has been dumped into the Hollywood news space, an #IStandWithJohnBoyega campaign has started on Twitter. Bottom line: Black people get treated differently when it comes to “abrupt” behavior. Here’s hoping that Boyega gets the respect he deserves.