Image: Instagram/@johnboyega
English actor John Boyega, known for playing Finn in the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” back in 2015 and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” last December 2017 seems to have caught wind of the gripes some people have over the movies’ characters.
It’s known that co-star Vietnamese-American actress Kelly Marie Tran, who played the role of Rose Tico in the “The Last Jedi” deleted all her photos in her personal Instagram account recently. The reason for her deletion stemmed from months and months of racist and sexist comments from “Star Wars” fans who were unhappy with her role in the film.
Boyega finally put his foot down yesterday, June 13, by posting on his Twitter account. He wrote, “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!” Boyega added.
https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/1006603513047199744
Boyega’s tweet comes as an integral gesture, as others have spoken in defense of Tran since news of her deleting her Instagram posts was made known. Tran’s presence in “The Last Jedi” is deemed by many as progressive, as it’s the first time a woman of color played a lead role in the 41-year-old franchise.
Boyega and Tran keep a close relationship as co-stars and were both pictured hugging it out last December 2017 during “The Last Jedi” premiere.
“You’ve taken your first step into a larger world,” Boyega captioned then in his photo with Tran.
In another tweet made just minutes later, Boyega further wrote, “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!”
https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/1006605080517337088
Meanwhile, legendary actor Mark Hamill, otherwise known as Luke Skywalker, kept the atmosphere lighthearted in his tweet for Boyega made the same day.
“Be careful there son,” wrote Hamill. “The last time I let a fan put themself (sic) in my shoes, they just took off running & sold them on Ebay. #FatherlyAdvice #FoolMeOnce.”
Be careful there son- the last time I let a fan put themself in my shoes, they just took off running & sold them on Ebay. 👞#FatherlyAdvice #FoolMeOnce https://t.co/1YKtxeJK01
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) June 12, 2018
Boyega, however, had the perfect response.
“Don’t worry dad! I got spares!”
https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/1006638561016406016
Boyega’s tweets echoed the sentiments of many, racking up tens of thousands of reactions in just two days. It seems an important lesson to be learned, one that goes even beyond the cyber walls of Twitter. Although bullies exist, the light side of the Force comes out stronger through and through. NVG
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