Actress Daisy Ridley, who the world knows as Rey in the Disney “Star Wars” saga, has come under fire for denying her “privilege.”
In an interview with The Guardian, the “Rise of Skywalker” actress argued that her privileged background, in which she attended a boarding school, did not make her access to fame any easier.
“The privilege I have – how? No, genuinely, how?” Ridley said.
As noted by The Independent, Daisy Ridley’s family includes playwright Arnold Ridley, and John Harry Dunn Ridley, OBE, who served as head of engineering at the BBC. She also attended the independent Tring School for the Performing Arts after obtaining a scholarship. Ridley even went as far to say that her life experiences were similar to that of her co-star, actor John Boyega, who attended Theatre Peckham on a hardship fund.
“John grew up on a council estate in Peckham, and I think me and him are similar enough that … no,” Ridley said. “Also, I went to a boarding school for performing arts, which was different. I’m not saying what you’re saying is wrong. I’ve just never been asked that before, so I’m like, oh. I don’t think so.”
As to whether or not her robust private education gave her confidence, Ridley felt her big family deserved more of the credit.
“I think, also, it has taken me a little while to be okay with it. I was always fairly confident, and I think that comes from being part of a big family who are all quite chatty,” she said.
Needless to say, Daisy Ridley was instantly trolled all over social media, especially for comparing her situation to John Boyega’s.
“One of the most appalling things abt this daisy ridley interview is that in her 4yrs of headlining one of the biggest franchises on earth, this is, so painfully evidently, the very first time anyone has truly invited her to critically confront & examine her own privilege,” said one Twitter user.
“People are already making threads about how cancel culture is bad nobody’s trying to cancel daisy ridley we’re just saying she’s dumb to vehemently deny her privilege and compare her struggles to john boyegas,” said another user.
“Instead of hoping Daisy Ridley is cancelled, let’s hope this is a valuable lesson to her and other white people that white privilege is real and we need to accept that, understand the injustice of it, and work to change it,” lamented another.
In the same interview, Ridley said that she does not like talking about her political opinions, though she did knock British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, while adding that “sane” people have issues with President Trump.
“No. I don’t feel I have to edit what I say – the things that make me angry are the things that make everyone angry,” said Ridley. “Everyone is annoyed with BoJo. Everyone has an issue with Trump – every sane person anyway. It’s not that I don’t talk about this stuff, but other people are so much more articulate than me and say it better.”