Star Wars: The Last Jedi actor and wonderful human sunbeam Kelly Marie Tran has seemingly deleted all the posts off her Instagram feed, with speculation rife that targeted harassment from fans is the cause.
Fans noticed that Tran (who only joined Instagram in the media run-up to the release of The Last Jedi in late 2017 and quickly turned it into a goddamned parade of wholesome, pure delights) had scrubbed her Instagram account clean of all posts a couple of days ago.
Tran’s Instagram page is, at the time of writing, void of all posts, leading fans to speculate the targeted and constant harassment is to blame for her exiting the platform.
Kelly Marie Tran removed all her wonderful instagram posts 😔 pic.twitter.com/3YlZTnEACS
— sleemo (@sleemo) May 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/ejnoodles/status/1003441923317796869
https://twitter.com/caroldanvrs/status/1003885633075441664
kelly marie tran deserves better than the star wars fandom that can’t seem to grasp the idea that she’s an actual person not her character
— danielle (@noyasjoon) June 3, 2018
Tran’s exit from Instagram follows Daisy Ridley in quitting social media, after Ridley admitted having to turn to therapy in order to deal with the intensity and vitriol of the rabid and often foul Star Wars fanbase.
Tran, who played Rose Tico in The Last Jedi, was known to have been subjected to racist, sexist, and misogynistic abuse from “fans” of the franchise, all of whom were apparently murderously incensed at a fictional story. This included broad abuse and harassment on Twitter and Facebook regarding Tran’s appearance, race, and general existence, as well as targeted abuse in comments on her various Instagram posts.
The Star Wars fanbase has a history of atrocious behaviour towards its various actors, with the worst of it unable to separate character from the actors who play them.
Kelly Marie Tran has yet to issue a public statement on her exit from social media, nor should anyone expect her to.
