Amandla Stenberg, star of Disney+’s “The Acolyte,” has released a song and music video in 72 hours, calling out her critics as propagandists and racists while claiming she feels oppressed and still affected by slavery. Stenberg, who has been acting since age 13, rejects discourse in her viral music video.
“Happy Juneteenth,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing the video. “To those flooding me with intolerable racism — since it took me 72 hours to make this, you have 72 hours to respond. And I expect choreo!” she added.
The song, likely titled “Discourse,” begins with a reference to a widely shared 2018 interview clip with Trevor Noah, where Stenberg said her goal was “white people crying.” She sings about speaking on police violence and the differing emotional responses from Black and white audiences.
“I’m sick and f***ing tired of suppressing my rage. 400 years of taking their bulls** to compartmentalize like my ancestors had to encaged.”**
After a chorus dismissing “discourse,” Stenberg criticizes the misappropriation of the word “woke.”
“They spinning woke, bastardize it and appropriate it. Last I recall, woke was something we created, speak truth to power, keep an eye out for you silly racists.”
“Now they use it to describe anything they threatened by … it was all about people recognizing bigotry, the power of community, not fodder for your clickbait,” she continues.
“The Acolyte” has faced heavy criticism for being overly “woke,” redefining the series canon with diverse and female characters, including lesbian witches and gay love interests for the lead.
In her rap, Stenberg addresses suppressed feelings of oppression due to slavery.
“If you don’t confront the pain that you live with it’ll manifest as addiction, disease, and hate. I’ve seen the infection repression can give ya, I’m not gonna be the next one sent to an early grave,” she concludes.
Stenberg’s progressive message, portraying oppression while in a position of privilege, has received mixed reactions. Some Instagram fans applauded her bravery, while critics on X mocked her, pointing out her privileged background and millionaire status.
With “The Acolyte” earning a low 14% fan rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems Stenberg might have missed why audiences reacted poorly.