The Acolyte: A Victim of Review Bombing?

The latest Star Wars series, The Acolyte, has become the lowest-rated project in the franchise’s history, with a dismal 14% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. But is this rating a true reflection of the show’s quality, or is something more sinister at play?

The answer, unfortunately, is the latter. The Acolyte has fallen victim to review bombing, a phenomenon where trolls deliberately leave negative reviews to skew the ratings. This is not the first time this has happened, and it’s a trend that’s becoming increasingly common in the entertainment industry.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

The Acolyte, which stars Amandla Stenberg as twin Force users on opposite sides of a war, has been targeted by trolls who are unhappy with the show’s progressive content. The latest episode, “Destiny,” included a romantic moment between two female witches, which seems to have sparked the backlash.

“The Acolyte has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any show or film in the Star Wars franchise.” - Source

However, the trolls seem to have gotten their wires crossed, and an unrelated 2008 horror film called Acolytes has also been bombarded with negative reviews. Its audience score has dropped from 42% to 33% in recent weeks.

Trolls, beware: review bombing can have unintended consequences!

This is not an isolated incident. The current series of Doctor Who, starring Ncuti Gatwa, has also been targeted, with 30% of its IMDb ratings being one-star reviews. Similarly, the 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid saw its Moviepilot score dip to a 0.7 out of 10 rating, prompting IMDb to issue a warning about unusual voting activity.

Under the sea, and under attack from trolls…

It’s clear that review bombing has become a serious problem in the entertainment industry. It’s time for fans and critics alike to take a stand against this kind of behavior and ensure that ratings reflect the true quality of a show or film.

Together, we can make a difference!