Months after the release of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, reaction to the Rian Johnson film proves to be just as divisive as ever, with some placing the film among the best STAR WARS has to offer and others finding little to like about it. While much of the criticism lobbed at the film has been done so in a civilized manner, certain groups have taken their hatred of the film to the extreme, even targeting members of the cast and crew with threatening and cruel messages. Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose Tico in STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, has been the focus of quite a lot of harassment over the past few months, and the actress has allegedly deleted all of her posts on her Instagram page in response, changing her bio to read "Afraid, but doing it anyway."
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI writer/director Rian Johnson took to Twitter in response to Kelly Marie Tran deleting her posts to condemn the harassment while also praising the vast majority of STAR WARS fans who are able to critique something without resorting to getting offensive.
On social media a few unhealthy people can cast a big shadow on the wall, but over the past 4 years I’ve met lots of real fellow SW fans. We like & dislike stuff but we do it with humor, love & respect. We’re the VAST majority, we’re having fun & doing just fine. https://t.co/yhcShg5vdJ
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 5, 2018
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
Your “implication” was not an implication at all, it was explicitly stated in your tweet: you’re conflating critiquing a movie with being an abusive asshole to people online, when it’s clear as day they are two seperate things & we’re condemning the latter and not the former.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 5, 2018
While Kelly Marie Tran hasn't made an official statement in regards to why she wiped her Instagram account, celebrities and fans are nonetheless rallying behind her, offering support in the face of harassment. When it comes to STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, no one is saying that you have to like it. It's perfectly fine not to like a film or particular characters within it, in fact, part of the joy which comes from being a movie fan is getting to debate those very issues with your peers. Perhaps you'll come away with an entirely new viewpoint or even manage to convince someone on the merits of one of your faves, but directly harassing cast and crew with offensive, racist comments? There's absolutely no need for that.
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What’s Not Allowed