Star Wars star criticizes Game of Thrones for lack of racial diversity

“Dragonstone” earned the highest ratings ever for an episode of Game of Thrones. We liked it, the viewing public liked it, and because celebrities are just like us, they liked it, too, as they showed via Twitter.

But not all celebrities were as enthusiastic. John Boyega, who plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, criticized the series’ lack of racial diversity in an interview with GQ.

"There are no black people on Game of Thrones. You don’t see one black person in Lord of the Rings. I ain’t paying money to always see one type of person on-screen. Because you see different people from different backgrounds, different cultures, every day. Even if you’re a racist, you have to live with that. We can ruffle up some feathers."

To be fair to the show, there are some black people on Game of Thrones, including Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei). It’s also featured actors like Nonso Anozie (Xaro Xhoan Daxos), DeObia Oparei (Areo Hotah) and Lucian Msamati (Salladhor Saan) over the years. However, none of these character are front and center in the way Finn is in the new Star Wars series.

This isn’t the first time a prominent actor has criticized Game of Thrones for a lack of diversity. David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oscar-nominated Selma, brought the issue up to Radio Times last year. “The fact that they put any ethnic minorities in that means that there should be space for bigger characters,” he said.

"Because you’re not just saying ‘OK this is purely a white world, and here are very story-driven reasons why that’s the case…You are interspersing people of colour into it. And so therefore it’s a conscious decision to put them on the margins, as opposed to put them front and centre. Even if for whatever reason, it’s a world in which people of colour in those stories are subservient, or they are more in a helper role, that doesn’t mean they can’t have prominent storylines. All you have to do is shift the focus to focus on those characters."

The issue of representation on Game of Thrones has been debated since the show’s inception. We’ll see how it develops now that the show is entering its final act.

Next: John Bradley (Sam) talks about a big Easter Egg from “Dragonstone”

h/t TIME