James Gunn is speaking out about toxic movie fans after a Star Wars actor detailed how hateful messages made him contemplate an attempt on his life. The writer and director commented on negative fans and had strong words for those who harass or antagonize those who have roles in movies they aren’t happy with, saying fans should ignore the works and “go to therapy” instead.
The response on Twitter came after Ahmad Best, who did motion capture for Jar Jar Binks, revealed that he contemplated suicide after the backlash against his character in the original Star Wars prequels. That was a backlash endured without the consequences of social media, in which thousands of people can directly message someone or something they don’t particularly like.
And considering a section of more modern Star Wars fans have made it their duty to inform everyone just how much they didn’t like The Last Jedi, to the point that they’re raising money to make their own version of the film, the alarming toll that backlash took on the actor was worrying to many in the film industry.
James Gunn, who wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, saw a report about Best’s revelation and tweeted on Wednesday that people need to “chill out.”
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1014385957234044928
He followed the tweet after some responses to further explain that the people spewing the most hate are taking the movies too seriously, and perhaps projecting a bit.
“If your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current Star Wars is,” Gunn said, “go to therapy.”
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1014545078965059584
Gunn is currently working on a third installment of Guardians of the Galaxy. Though his entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe haven’t seen the backlash that Jar Jar or the more recent Star Wars movies have, it makes sense that he’d defend the people that write and act in movies of that magnitude. With huge properties come lots of attention, some of it negative. That doesn’t, however, always make it fair.
