Read on Twitter
Here, nerdsagainstfandomracism makes the connection between how the antiblackness of racist fans (who hold irrational anger at or refuse to engage/connect with Black characters) is used to validate the antiblack mistreatment of Black actors by execs/staff https://nerdsagainstfandomracism.tumblr.com/post/637738659581460480/the-racism-leonard-roberts-faced-on-set-of-heroes
"Media racism and systemic racial oppression in Hollywood goes hand in hand with fandom racism." https://nerdsagainstfandomracism.tumblr.com/post/637738659581460480/the-racism-leonard-roberts-faced-on-set-of-heroes
The haters who can, in some cases, spend YEARS online shitting on Black characters for being "useless", claiming Black actors don't have chemistry with their white love co-stars, & who CONSTANTLY frame Black fans as aggressive and attacking THEM are the ones who execs listen to
Not because they didn't SEE healthy and happy Black fans celebrating milestones like Finn holding the lightsaber, Candice Patton has a long running Black woman lead, or positive Black fandom building up around Nicole Beharie's Abbie in Sleepy Hollow, but because they WANT failure
They want to be able to say "people wanted Kylo to be the romantic lead over Finn" or that "nobody" is watching a show centering a Black woman baseball player or a Black girl whose DNA holds secrets for curing vampirism or w/e. They want to say "Black people aren't profitable".
And since the actual facts are that Black people - Black nerds specifically - are notorious for brand loyalty and showing support with our funds especially for media that connects with us, they literally ignore us and look at the racists in the fandom/media sphere as "real" fans.
So they don't market Black characters well (they're not in many scenes and get limited promo content even when they're the lead). They don't give wide press access to Black celebs. Sometimes they even actually fuel fan division by nodding to fanon ships that erase Black people.
And they ignore Black people.
They ignore Black fans who talk about the media, char, pair, or actor and say there's no buzz. They ignore the celebrity who knows they're being underutilized and then say no one liked them.They ignore the characters and then say there's no demand.
They ignore Black fans who talk about the media, char, pair, or actor and say there's no buzz. They ignore the celebrity who knows they're being underutilized and then say no one liked them.They ignore the characters and then say there's no demand.
