Daisy Ridley “couldn’t sleep” after John Boyega backlash
Daisy Ridley recently opened up about the distress that she felt in 2019 following an interview where she was asked a question concerning her Star Wars co-star, John Boyega.
In a talk with the Guardian five years ago, she was asked about her “privilege” growing up compared to his. The two worked together in the Star Wars sequels, including The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. The sequels have received mixed reviews but did incredibly well at the box office.
In an interview in 2019, Ridley was asked how much her “privileged” upbringing helped with her new-found fame. She was asked, “If she thinks it has been easier to be confident and navigate her celebrity because of the privilege in her life.” The interview mentioned that Ridley went to boarding school, as she was a student at Tring Park Performing Arts School in Hertfordshire on a scholarship.
Ridley said in the interview with the Guardian, “John grew up on a council estate in Peckham, and I think me and him are similar enough that… no… Also, I went to a boarding school for performing arts, which was different.” In the write-up, the interviewer wrote that Ridley thought there was “Little difference between her experience and that of her co-star John Boyega, who grew up in South London to British Nigerian immigrant parents.”
Reflecting on the interview, which took place five years ago, Ridley has shed some light on how she felt after the write-up was published, admitting that she struggled to sleep. “I literally couldn’t sleep after that came out…” she said, “Because I felt like, honestly, it was purposeful de-contextualising. I was reading it thinking, ‘That’s not what I mean, that’s not what I meant’.”
In 2023, it was confirmed that Ridley would be returning to the Star Wars universe after it was announced that she would be returning as Rey in an upcoming movie. Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight was originally attached to the film; however, recent reports state that he has since left the production.
Details surrounding the upcoming film are being kept close to Disney’s chest; however, it has been reported that the film will pick up after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, as Rey attempts to open up her very own Jedi Academy. While there is excitement surrounding the movie, given setbacks with writers working on it, it’s unlikely it will enter production anytime soon.
