By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Disney+ axed 'The Acolyte' and nuked its merch — why Gay Twitter is raising alarm bells
Oh, Disney, will you ever keep queer-focused content for long?
Another day, another cancellation of a queer-centered TV show that got the axe by none other than Disney+ after they didn’t greenlight a second season of the Star Wars spinoff, The Acolyte.
As a longtime Disney fan, I find their mixed messaging infuriating. Growing up, my crazy conservative aunt convinced my family to ban anything from Disney in all households because they “support the gays.”
The problem is that whenever Disney seems to do so openly, they quickly backtrack and either change the narrative or cancel the show. For example, The Acolyte follows a coven of lesbian witches, which includes queer actress Amandla Stenberg as Mae and Osha. This is the second Star Wars spinoff that featured queer characters — fortunately, we still have one more season of Andor, which hasn't buried its gays, yet.
At the moment, as though canceling the show wasn’t bad enough, fans are also afraid The Acolyte will get the same treatment Willow — another Disney+ original which featured queer love —did and get removed from the platform entirely, despite the group of fans who want to save it.
For those who didn’t watch Willow, it featured a prominent lesbian relationship between a princess and a knight. It, too, was canceled after just one season, and fans were shocked and appalled when it left the platform entirely.
Some fans believe the removal of Willow — and potentially the removal of The Acolyte, should that happen — are due to tax write-offs.
At the time of Willow’s removal, writer John Bickerstaff vented on a since-privated Twitter thread to complain about the cancelation. He also squashed the write-off theory, saying, “Before you say tax write-off: these shows have already been released and so can’t be a write-off. And in the case of Willow, they own the property outright. The only conclusion is that this is to get out of paying residuals.”
Warwick Davis, who starred in the original Willow film as well as the reboot series, also lamented he removal of the show, saying, "What do I say to these subscribers when they ask why they can't watch the series any more? #embarrassing."
As far as tax write-offs go, Forbes echoed the sentiment in regard to The Acolyte, noting that shows can only get tax write-offs before the're released. This perpetuates the theory Bickerstaff stated about Disney removing shows prevents them from having to pay any residuals. While the move may make some sense, it also seems to only happen to the shows with prominent queer characters.
Considering the backlash and outrage when Willow was removed, Disney would be wise to not make the same mistake with The Acolyte, regardless of their reason for canceling it and also because they've kept on Andor.
In the same breath, Disney would also be wise to actually stick with a show featuring queer representation, or stop baiting its audiences with false promises of total inclusion.
Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.
Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.
