Kelly Marie Tran‘s opportunity to play Resistance ship mechanic Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi has led to some high notes (like getting to purchase her own action figure at Target) and some definite lows (like getting harassed by bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling). Tran was harassed by a toxic subset of fandom who seem to think not liking a movie is a valid reason to single out and bully one actor. The deluge of personal attacks led her to leave social media, pen an emotional essay about the experience, and continue to question whether social media is worth it. (It probably isn’t.)
Director Rian Johnson has already lent his support to Tran, as has fellow franchise actor Hayden Christensen (no stranger to toxic so-called “fans” himself). Now the actor whom Tran’s character bit in a Last Jedi deleted scene is saying exactly what he thinks about the trolls.
Domnhall Gleeson, who plays General Hux, spoke to Scott Davis about Tran’s harassers during an interview for his current film, The Little Stranger. You can watch the full answer below, but here’s the part where he doesn’t hold back:
“People having an opinion about the film is absolutely fine. You pay your money, and you’re allowed to have an opinion,” Gleeson said, adding a short while later, “The stuff with Kelly was bullshit. That’s a different thing all together, so those people are just morons. Those people are just assholes. It’s a different level of stuff. You don’t buy that when you buy your tickets. I thought the piece she wrote was amazing and I’ve got huge respect for her. I thought she dealt with it as classily as an unclassy situation can call for.”
Well said, and perhaps a reminder we should all know the difference between a critique and a targeted harassment campaign, and treat the morons accordingly.
As a society we terrorized a kid in 2003 for playing out a lightsaber fight yet for some reason allow this new modern vile Star Wars fan to exist. Ostracize them.
— Eric Szyszka (@ericszyszka) June 20, 2018
(Via Hey You Guys)