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Who is Krystina Arielle? Truth behind Star Wars's racist past as it's dubbed 'hypocritical' for slamming bullies

'THIS from the company that erased a 1/2 second LGBT+ kiss, Erased Rose from the third movie AND completely destroyed John Boyega's Finn all because he was black'

Actress Krystina Arielle, who was recently announced as the host of the upcoming ‘Star Wars: The High Republic Show’, has since been subjected to racist vitriol from the Star Wars fandom, largely in response to her tweets condemning systemic racism in the US. Arielle shared screenshots of the hate comments she had received on January 23 and wrote, “We the last 24 hours have been ... not the greatest.” Arielle faced backlash for her outspoken tweets where she reportedly shared her experiences regarding racism in the United States.

On January 23, the official 'Star Wars' account on Twitter responded to the mounting harassment: "Our Star Wars community is one of hope and inclusivity. We do not stand for bullying and racism. We support @KrystinaArielle."

However, many were quick to note past failures by the franchise to protect its cast members of color and called it out for the same. "Great to see Lucasfilm/Disney realize they should stand up for members of their community who face unspeakable, hateful harassment," The Verge's Julia Alexander wrote. "It's still infuriating they did not do this for John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Daisy Ridley. This is good. We as fans should always ask for better."

One user said, ""Our Star Wars community is one of hope and inclusivity." THIS from the company that erased a 1/2 second LGBT+ kiss, Erased Rose from the third movie AND completely destroyed John Boyega's Finn all because he was black. Disney is the most hypocritical company to ever exist." Another said, "star wars really said their community is one of hope and inclusivity...... i think the experiences of john boyega, naomi ackie, kelly marie tran and oscar isaac say otherwise." One said, "What about the time Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley were driven off social media and had to get therapy? What about the time Ahmed Best wanted to end his life? What about the time you made John Boyega smaller on the poster to sell more seats in China? Don't stand for ANY of it."

Kelly Marie Tran, who portrayed Rose Tico in 2017's 'The Last Jedi', was infamously targeted by fans who didn't like her character, driving her away from social media entirely. Tran, who is Vietnamese-American, described much of her harassment as racist and sexist. Tran returned as Tico in 2019's 'The Rise of Skywalker', but for a noticeably diminished role in the plot.

Arielle is known for her movies ‘Six in One’, ‘Denver by Night’ (2020) and ‘Critical Role’. Actress and geek media personality Arielle was picked by Lucasfilm to be the face of ‘The High Republic Show’, a bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series exploring the new 'Star Wars' sub-franchise. ‘The High Republic’ launched last year is the latest attempt to branch out from fan-favorite characters and stories and establish a new hub for content, supposedly more befitting for modern readers.

The announcement about Arielle being the host was not taken well by some fans, who showed their displeasure with her political stand. Arielle is Black and an outspoken critic of racism and she has made many remarks about White people in the past, some of which may seem insulting. Arielle apparently believes that the experiences of Black people cannot be comprehended by their White counterparts, so much so that it takes a Black person to properly write a Black character.

On March 24, 2020, columnist Jeff Yang tweeted, “So I had my first “breathing while Asian” moment. Went out for groceries and an older masked white woman passing by the line shouted “FUCK YOU!” at me for no apparent reason. As I stared at her, she pulled off her mask, coughed directly at me, turned on her heel and walked off.” Arielle retweeted this saying, “White people: fucking stop it. Your racism won’t save you. Your ignorance is not an excuse.”

On October 23, she further tweeted, “Watching two white men discuss racism they will never experience will never sit right with me #Debates2020.” She further wrote, “White men: this is not the subject for you to try and speak authoritatively in my comments. I said what I said.”

On August 17, she wrote, “You don't get to pat yourself on the back for being "diverse" if you have white writers guessing how black characters might respond in a situation. It doesn't matter how many black people you outsource your questions to. Try hiring us. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.”