On her show Sunday, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry lamented the racist implications of Star Wars villain Darth Vader, who she said was “totally a black guy” while he was “cutting off white men’s hands” until he suddenly became a white guy after being reformed by his son.
The comments came during a discussion about upcoming blockbuster of blockbusters Star Wars: The Force Awakens. After discussing the sexism of Princess Leia’s slave costume (Disney is reportedly pulling all the “Slave Leia” merchandise, by the way), Harris-Perry said she has “a lot” of “feelings” about Star Wars, particularly regarding the iconic villain Darth Vader.
“I know why I have feelings—good, bad, and otherwise—about Star Wars. And I have a lot. I could spend the whole day talking about the whole Darth Vader situation,” she said.
After being prompted by guest panelist Wesley Morris of the New York Times, the host launched into a rant about the racial implications of “black guy” Vader.
“Yeah, like, the part where he was totally a black guy whose name basically was James Earl Jones, who … while he was black, he was terrible and bad and awful and used to cut off white men’s hands—and didn’t, you know, actually claim his son,” said Harris-Perry.
“But as soon as he claims his son and goes over to the good, he takes off his mask and he is white. Yes, I have many, many feelings about that, but I will try to put them over here,” she said magnanimously.
Here’s the video via MRC TV: