John Boyega finally opens up about the passionate speech he delivered during a Black Lives Matter protest in London during the summer of 2020. The British-Nigerian actor first made a name for himself with his role in the 2011 sci-fi comedy film, Attack the Block, but it wasn't until a few years later that Boyega gained international fame. Now, he is best known as the reformed First Order stormtrooper, Finn, from Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy. Boyega has also appeared in projects like Pacific Rim: Uprising and Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit.
During the summer of 2020, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked several massive Black Lives Matter protests across the United States and the world. Boyega attended one of these protests in his native London and delivered an impromptu and impassioned speech in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, despite the fear of potential backlash in Hollywood, even admitting during the speech, "I don't know if I'm gonna have a career after this." Though the passionate speech went viral on social media and garnered various reactions online, Boyega did not immediately address the fallout of his remarks.
Now, more than two years after he delivered the speech, Boyega finally opened up about the moment in an interview with The Daily Beast. The actor detailed how the speech was truly impromptu since he attended the Black Lives Matter protest with no intention of speaking, but he became so moved by the movement that he felt compelled to make a statement. Boyega also discussed how the speech is potentially affecting his acting career two years after the fact. Read what he said below:
I do know it was a spontaneous day with the way everything went down, because I didn’t actually go to the protest to speak. There were no official plans or anything like that. And while we were waiting for Belly Mujinga’s family to come there specifically, that’s when the megaphone was like, “Do you want to say a few words?” And I stood up and said what was on my mind and expressed how I’d been thinking. The expression of that thought seemed so spontaneous, like it had come out of nowhere, but I’ve lived a Black life—even before money and fame. I’ve lived over a few decades of a Black life, and for me, that perspective doesn’t leave you because you have money or because you have stability. You’re still going to feel a certain connection when you see a Black individual in the States get stomped down like that. You’re going to feel that way. I think what’s been surprising for me is that sometimes people are like, “Well, you’re an actor now! Do your career and make your money!” And you’re like, wow, that’s more of a reflection of how cold-hearted you are. And by the way, I have money. I have it. It’s not powerful enough to erase your empathy when you see someone who looks like you going through a circumstance. If you have a heart, you will be moved by it.
I thought about that on the day, and honestly, it was much more simple in my head. It’s because the crowd was just building up a little bit more, and I looked up and saw news helicopters. When I saw the helicopters I was like, oh, this might be news to people. This might be something that’s online and stuff, which I hadn’t expected it to be. But I did worry. At the time, I hadn’t yet understood the positive side of it. I was worrying. I was like, damn, if they see that they’re not gonna go out and say, “We don’t support John Boyega.” They would never do that. You know what they’re gonna do behind the scenes? You’re not gonna get no work. There’s not gonna be a conversation or none of that. You’re gonna find that they’re sat in rooms that you’re not gonna be able to get into.
Soon after Boyega's Black Lives Matter speech surfaced online, his confession that his comments might cost him his career began to attract significant attention, In response, several Hollywood directors began to share support for Boyega, including Jordan Peele, Matthew A. Cherry, Duncan Jones, Phil Lord, Edgar Wright, and Cathy Yan. While these filmmakers publicly stated they would be willing to work with the Star Wars actor, it's unclear if some in the industry have silently shunned him behind-the-scenes, as Boyega fears.
It's unclear if he has lost out on any roles because of his speech, though just the notion of a talented artist being punished for bravely speaking up about an important issue is discouraging. However, John Boyega's career doesn't seem to have been negatively impacted by his speech, as he currently stars in the film Breaking, releasing on August 26. He also stars in the upcoming films They Cloned Tyrone and The Woman King and is currently attached to numerous projects in development, including an Attack the Block sequel.
Source: The Daily Beast