“Star Wars” star Mark Hamill has called out the people harassing “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” actress Kelly Marie Tran online.
Tran deleted all the posts on her Instagram account this week. She hasn’t shared the reason for doing so, but her exit came after “months of harassment” on Instagram from self-professed “Star Wars” fans who didn’t like Tran’s role as Rose Tico in “The Last Jedi,” according to a “Star Wars” fan site.
Hamill, who reprised his famous role as Skywalker in “The Last Jedi,” addressed harassers who claim to be “Star Wars” fans by posting a photo of himself with Tran. His message to the harassers: #GetALifeNerds.”
What's not to love?#GetALifeNerds pic.twitter.com/k1sa0X1qpg
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) June 6, 2018
“The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson also weighed in on the attacks, calling the suggestion that the activity was merely “showing dislike” for “The Last Jedi” “disingenuous bulls–t.” Johnson railed against fans that take their dislike a movie so far as to try to ruin the lives of the people in it.
Done with this disingenuous bullshit. You know the difference between not liking a movie and hatefully harassing a woman so bad she has to get off social media. And you know which of those two we’re talking about here.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 5, 2018
Johnson’s comments came a day after he tweeted vaguely about the situation, calling the people who would harass an actress over a role “manbabies.”
What we talk about when we talk about manbabies
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 5, 2018
The vocal detractors of “The Last Jedi” have been mad about the movie since it came out, with some trying to push a #BoycottStarWars movement. Others created petitions to have the film removed from the “Star Wars” canon.
“The Last Jedi” collected a sad amount of vitriol from people opposed to diverse casting in recent “Star Wars” movies, and the elevation of women characters to major roles. Well before the current harassment, someone even added racist language to the Rose Tico character page on “Star Wars” wiki Wookiepedia.
Those kinds of bigoted attacks also surrounded “The Force Awakens,” as people lobbed sexist comments at Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, and racist comments at John Boyega, who plays Finn. Clearly, though, if you’re on the side of an argument that Luke Skywalker opposes, you’re on the wrong side.