Ewan McGregor supports co-star Moses Ingram against racist hate

Ewan McGregor, who plays the title role in the new Disney+ "Star Wars" series "Obi-Wan Kenobi," is decrying those besieging his Black co-star, Moses Ingram, with racist social media posts and direct messages.

"It seems that some of the fan base from this influential fan base have decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most horrendous, racist DMs," the Emmy Award winner, 51, said in a video posted Tuesday on the "Star Wars" official social media. "And I heard some of them this morning and it just broke my heart."

McGregor went on to call Ingram, 28, who scored an Emmy nomination for "The Queen's Gambit,” her first TV role, "a brilliant actor, she's a brilliant woman and she's absolutely amazing in this series. She brings so much to the series, she brings so much to the franchise, and it just sickened me to my stomach that this has been happening."

He added, "I just want to say as the leading actor in the series, as the executive producer on the series, that we stand with Moses. We love Moses. And if you're sending her bullying messages, you're no 'Star Wars' fan in my mind. There's no place for racism in this world and I totally stand with Moses."

Yale Drama School graduate Ingram (née Monique Ingram) plays a former Jedi, Reva Sevander, now one of Darth Vader's formidable Imperial Inquisitors tasked to hunt Jedi Knights.

On Monday, Ingram had posted on Instagram Stories some of what she called in an accompanying video the "hundreds" of racist messages she received. "You're [sic] days are numbered," threatened one person. "You're a diversity hire," wrote another. At least one used a racial epithet, while another bemoaned the "Saint George of Floydium of Star Wars," a reference to the nationwide protests that erupted after the 2020 death of George Floyd while in police custody. Instagram Stories posts cycle out after 24 hours.

The "Star Wars" official social media also offered Ingram support, posting, "There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don't choose to be a racist. We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist."

On Wednesday, Ingram responded on Instagram Stories, "The love is louder. It overflows. Thank you."

Asian American actor Kelly Marie Tran and Black actor John Boyega from the recent "Star Wars" movies similarly had faced a wave of racist social media.