For quite some time, the Star Wars community has been a bit of a hot mess. Granted, a majority of the fandom is made up of fun-loving types who want nothing more than to embrace the newest chapters of the time-honored space saga. Unfortunately, lately it feels as if the minority of haters are louder than the rest of the crowd. One Star Wars actor who's had more than enough of the nay-saying is John Boyega, who plays Finn in both STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS and STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. After watching two of his fellow cast mates remove themselves from social media due to an endless stream of harassment, Boyega has taken to his own Twitter account where he's called for all the trolls to return to the shadows beneath whatever bridge they call home.
Boyega then posted a follow-up to his original tweet in an effort to thank fans who've stood by the franchise through thick and thin:
The tweets are a part of Boyega's response to watching both Daisy Ridley (Rey) and Kelly Marie Tran (Rose) exit their social media platforms after no longer being able to stomach the hateful, racist, and sexist vitriol spewed at them from the sewer holes of combative Star Wars fans. It's to note that Boyega isn't the only Star Wars alum who's come to the defense of both Ridely and Tran, as both STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI director Rian Johnson and Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill have also expressed their frustrations with the small-minded minority.
On June 5th, Johnson posted a message to Star Wars haters via his own Twitter account saying "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," He then added, "We like & dislike stuff but we do it with humor, love & respect. We’re the VAST majority, we’re having fun & doing just fine."
Hamill also fanned the flames by posting a photo of himself and Tran along with the hashtag #GetALifeNerds. A caption for the photo read "What's not to love?" While I have a lot of personal thoughts related to the subject at hand, I'll let you all have at it in the comments section below.
May the force be with you all … unless you're an asshole.