Toxic ‘The Acolyte’ Haters Duped by Fake Rotten Tomatoes Scandal
It’s quite disheartening to see a new industry emerge that thrives on despising media labeled as ‘woke.’ ‘The Acolyte,’ a new Star Wars series on Disney Plus that takes place long before the well-known era, has become the latest target. An unfounded scandal about Rotten Tomatoes allegedly hiding thousands of negative user reviews briefly caught fire online.
Influential Twitter accounts, like ‘End Wokeness’ with 2.6 million followers, were at the forefront of spreading this baseless claim. They suggested Rotten Tomatoes had deleted 25,000 user scores that dragged the show’s rating down to 14%, making it the lowest-rated Star Wars project ever. However, this wasn’t true. The ratings reappeared shortly after disappearing, pointing to a mere technical glitch—a common issue on the site.
YouTube quickly filled with videos discussing this ‘score deletion,’ with some gaining thousands of views. These videos often come from channels with large followings, demonstrating how lucrative creating outrage can be. But as someone who uses Rotten Tomatoes daily, I can vouch that the site is often glitchy and not particularly well-designed, which explains the temporary score disappearance.
The attacks don’t stop at technical issues. ‘The Acolyte’ has been bombarded with criticism, often under the guise of poor writing or deviations from Star Wars canon. However, these critiques frequently boil down to discomfort with the show’s progressive elements. Despite this, the show introduces compelling elements, like the character Qimir, a Sith who delivers one of the best lightsaber duels in the series.
It’s sad to see so many people ready to attack the show and anyone who defends it. ‘The Acolyte’ is at worst decent, and at its best, quite intriguing. Yet, the level of anger it has sparked is unreasonable. As the show continues, we can expect even more unfounded critiques simply because it tries to offer something new.
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