Star Wars fans have been in the news a lot over the past few years. Unfortunately, a lot of it has been due to some pretty terrible behavior. In the wake of a flood of harassment, The Last Jedi actress, Kelly Marie Tran, deleted her Instagram posts which prompted an outcry of support from both fans and fellow actors, including her co-star John Boyega.
The actor, who plays Finn in the new Star Wars films, is no stranger to internet harassment himself. As soon as it was made known that he would be playing a Stormtrooper in The Force Awakens, the actor received more than his fair share of racist comments from fans upset over seeing a black man in a Stormtrooper uniform. Yesterday, he took to Twitter to address the fandom harassment.
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
And when one fan, in particular, took shots at Boyega’s character, he shut them down pretty quickly.
Hey if I’m wrong I apologise, but this narrative that all fans are just hating her is pathetic. We hate the character, and to be honest yours wasn’t much better
— manlikemiggz (@manlikemiggz1) June 12, 2018
We don’t care. 🤷🏾♂️
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) June 12, 2018
However, Boyega did end things on a positive note as he thanked the fans who have been “putting themselves in [the actor’s] shoes.”
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
While this type of behavior from the fandom is completely unacceptable, many have justified it by veiling their harassment in the form of criticism over the new movies and characters. But what do you think? Are fans crossing the line, or do they have a right to criticize (harass) the actors from their favorite film franchises? Was John Boyega right to say the things he said? Let us know in the comments below.
