Name: One Piece's Miss Wednesday speaks out about fan backlash | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-03-10T16:29:57.000Z
Duration: 8 min 40 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Past simple

The guy who created everything handpicked you.

To-infinitive

Why do you think people chose to ignore that?

I hear people think it's a lie for all of the main characters.

But there's nothing we can take on together.

When you were announced as Ms. Wednesday, there was a massive reaction to online.

A lot of positive, but also some negative as well.

What did you make of that and how did you handle all of that?

I think as a woman of color in this industry, it is unfortunately, something that is somewhat the status quo.

But I'm not the first person in this position.

So in that sense, I, like, try to remember that it's not necessarily about me as a person and that it's just, like, I've got to do my best to prove to people that I'm the right fit for this.

And I hope they enjoy and I hope I can expand their minds and make them view people and the world a little differently.

But beyond that, I've just got to live my truth, be true to myself.

I'm an actor who gets to be on this amazing TV show.

I think I just try to remember how lucky I am and how grateful I am.

I don't subscribe to, like, public or fan adoration as being something that I need.

I think I'm so loved in my real life that it's not something that I live or die by.

Your co stars backed you online, like Rob Coletti, Emily Rudd, these guys, they backed you straight away.

How did that make you feel as a woman of color within this industry, knowing that your co workers, not even your co workers, your friends, your.

And even if you didn't see it publicly, like, all of them are here for me and hyping me up.

I think it speaks to how much people, like, believe in the show and the creative choices in the show.

And it makes me feel, like, way safer being in that professional environment to know that, like, my colleagues who are my friends would back me like that and protect me and support me like that.

I'm gonna call him older Sensei because that's the goat.

Oda Sensei is heavily involved with the casting.

People always talk about source material, but the guy created everything, handpicked you.

I think people think it's a lie, which is really interesting.

I think people think like, guys, I promise you, for all of the main characters, Oda Sensei picks us.

But I think of the situation, if it teaches me anything, it's that, like, at that point, there's nothing that you can do and there's nothing that you can say to change people's mind beyond watching the show and then maybe that changing their mind, right?

Ultimately, as a creative and as someone on the show, if Oda Sensei, the person who's brilliant mind this has all come out of, says you are the right person to portray this character, that to me is like, kind of the only validation that matters.

And I am so grateful for his support and his kindness.

Can you describe to the people them at home the plot of One Piece, if you can?

One Piece is a pirate show about friendship and following your dreams.

And basically, the Captain Lushy collects individuals to go on this adventure with him to find the One Piece so he can become King of the Pirates.

And in the second season, I am one of the new characters, him and his crew called the Straw Hats Encounter.

So, yes, the show is named after the treasure that this crew is trying to find.

But beyond that, it really is a show about, like, friendship and these different people coming together.

As a guy who reads the manga, you described it perfectly.

Before you got the role, did you realize how big the manga and the show was?

When I auditioned for it, they didn't tell me what it was.

And so I think that that's really ignorance is bliss.

Because, you know, I think if I did know, maybe I would feel the pressure of it more.

And I may have not been, like, true to my instincts as an actor when portraying what was on the page.

But then once I did find out what it was, I couldn't believe how I had not interacted with One Piece prior to this, because it is huge.

And now that, like, I am in the universe, I see it absolutely everywhere.

It's one of those, like, I describe One Piece of it like Fight Club, that maybe in public, people don't talk about It.

But if someone mentions it, okay, maybe it's not like.

But if someone mentions it, it's like the floodgates open and you realize, oh, everybody reads the manga or watches the anime.

It's been an amazing immersion into this world and this ip, yeah, it's kind of like a unspoken secret.

But as soon as the secret gets spoken out loud, everybody's gushing about it.

You're like, I was on set filming something else.

And I guess I think I mentioned that I was about to come and film One Piece and they.

And suddenly everyone's eyes lit up and I was like, I would have never known that you guys were fans of it unless I sat and we had this conversation.

And what do you think it is about anime, and

specifically this live action anime which has translated so well into the uk.

Like, for example, on iplayer, it's one of the most watched shows in iPlayer in the UK.

Like, it's become massive since it became available last year.

What do you think about One Piece that has translated so well to UK audiences?

I presume that other people pick up on similar things, is that the messages of the story are so universal.

In a time where the world feels incredibly divided and, like, people are so polarized.

The message of, like, following your dreams and being good to your friends and this chosen family is just.

So I would say that's what I really loved about it.

And I think that's maybe my guess as to why the anime has really picked up.

But I think in terms of the live action, you know, I think there is a kind of manga, anime, live action, action curse.

And it's because we embrace all of the craziness and the campiness of the manga and anime.