John Boyega joins Mark Hamill and director Rian Johnson in calling out the toxic Star Wars fans who some feel bullied Kelly Marie Tran into straight-up deleting her entire Instagram feed.
In his post to Twitter last night, Boyega wrote that “harassing the actors/ actresses will do nothing“, and that rude people, targeting the cast, are “not entitled to politeness” in response.
If you don’t like Star Wars or the characters understand that there are decisions makers and harassing the actors/ actresses will do nothing. You’re not entitled to politeness when your approach is rude. Even if you paid for a ticket! 🤷🏾♂️
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 12, 2018
To the majority of Star Wars fans thank you for supporting and putting yourselves in our shoes. You understand that there is a process so much appreciated !
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 12, 2018
Hamill lightened the mood, quick to quip that sometimes diehard stans could take a statement like “putting themselves in our shoes” all too literally.
Be careful there son- the last time I let a fan put themself in my shoes, they just took off running & sold them on Ebay. 👞#FatherlyAdvice #FoolMeOnce https://t.co/1YKtxeJK01
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) June 12, 2018
Don’t worry dad ! I got spares ! https://t.co/2J2IThP1Pw
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 12, 2018
Last week, after Tran first said ‘BYEEEEE‘ to the trolls on her account, Hamill posted a picture of himself with the actress in support, writing “#GetALifeNerds“.
What’s not to love?#GetALifeNerds pic.twitter.com/k1sa0X1qpg
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) June 6, 2018
Meanwhile, director Rian Johnson took a moment to appreciate fans who debate online with “humour, love and respect“.
On social media a few unhealthy people can cast a big shadow on the wall, but over the past 4 years I’ve met lots of real fellow SW fans. We like & dislike stuff but we do it with humor, love & respect. We’re the VAST majority, we’re having fun & doing just fine. https://t.co/yhcShg5vdJ
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 5, 2018
But he was taking no shit from anyone who didn’t acknowledge the cruelty of the campaign against Tran.
Sorry but that’s nonsense. I’ve made it crystal clear who I’m talking about when I call out toxic behavior – not reasonable fans who dislike the movie, but aggressive trolls who harass my cast and crew with insults and threats.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 7, 2018
Not by me they’re not. Have questions, raise issues, disagree to your heart’s content, that’s what fandom is all about. But if someone’s an asshole to me or my friends, I reserve the right to call them an asshole.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 8, 2018
I will say she’s happily living her life in grand Kelly style, I’m glad she’s cut this distraction out of it. I’m bummed we all lose out on her IG posts, she was awesome on it. ❤️
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 8, 2018
He also was not having it with anyone trying to have a go at him in the replies to his retweet of a, well, delightful, Wheel of Fortune Answers meme.
https://twitter.com/wofanswers/status/1004010871645986817
Ok, I have to draw the line at you dragging your drooly little manbaby butt across the wheel of fortune answers account. Back to the swamp, you’re free/blocked.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 7, 2018
Tran quit Insty almost two years after her cast mate Daisy Ridley also quit the site, she too having been harangued by ‘fans’ for expressing support for the family members of the victims of gun violence.
According to The Guardian, an online hate group have claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tran, in a since-deleted Facebook post.
The group, who aim to “Bring back the Straight White Male Hero” (*barf*), were previously behind an attempt to fudge a negative Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes for Black Panther. To the extent that the group were actually thrown off Facebook for creating an event encouraging their followers to derail the film’s critical reception score on the reviews aggregator.
