The Acolyte’s Amandla Stenberg Hits Back at Fan ‘Bigotry’ After Cancellation

The buzz for The Acolyte has yet to die out, even though it was officially canceled after a solitary season. While the series drew favorable reviews from critics, it was collectively panned by viewers around the globe. In the wake of such polarizing reactions, lead actress Amandla Stenberg has come out to share her two cents on The Acolyte’s cancellation.

Here’s what Amandla Stenberg said about the show being canceled after Season 1.

Amandla Stenberg reacts to The Acolyte being canceled

Amandla Stenberg credited the failure of The Acolyte to hyper-conservative bigotry and bitter criticism from reactors.

The Darkest Minds star recently took to her Instagram stories to voice her opinion on The Acolyte getting canceled. “I’m going to be transparent and say it’s not a huge shock for me. There has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it,” explained Stenberg. “That’s when we started experiencing a rampage of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language towards us.”

The actress also conveyed that the resultant backlash ended up taking a toll on her, as per Variety. “This really affected me when I first got the job,” the 25-year-old star said. “Because it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you.” Nevertheless, Stenberg still expressed gratitude for obtaining the chance to star in The Acolyte. She also thanked everyone who supported the show during its troubled run, stating that their assistance made the experience worthwhile for her.

Aside from Amandla Stenberg, The Acolyte also featured Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, and Dafne Keen in pivotal roles. The series currently maintains a 78% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, as opposed to an 18% rating from audiences. Due to negative reviews from fans and dwindling viewership statistics, the show was canceled after a single season.