A number of famous names have rallied round Star Wars actor Kelly Marie Tran after she deleted all of her Instagram posts following months of harassment from angry fans.
Tran played Rose Trico – a mechanic who befriends and ultimately saves Finn (John Boyega) from dying – in The Last Jedi. She was the first woman of colour to play a leading role in the franchise, and it was first reported back in December that she had faced racist and sexist comments after her appearance in the film.
One example saw the description of Rose Tico on the Star Wars ‘Wookieepedia’ website altered to feature offensive and racist language, while alt-right internet personality Paul Ray Ramsey also took aim at Tran’s appearance.
Star Wars Facts reported that Tran took the decision to delete all of the posts from her Instagram account due to the harassment she faced.
Following the news, a number of celebrities have been showing their support for Tran on social media. Her fellow Star Wars castmember Mark Hamill posted a picture of himself with Tran, asking “what’s not to love?”
Last Jedi director Rian Johnson took on one of Tran’s trolls, writing: ” You know the difference between not liking a movie and hatefully harassing a woman so bad she has to get off social media?”
See a selection of the tweets in support of Tran below.
What's not to love?#GetALifeNerds pic.twitter.com/k1sa0X1qpg
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) June 6, 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
i ♥️ #kellymarietran and her incredible work in The Last Jedi.
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) June 6, 2018
Kelly Marie Tran is a goddamn treasure and I will not hear otherwise.
— Ashly Burch (@ashly_burch) June 5, 2018
Seriously, fix your fucking life if you do shit like this. This isn’t fandom, its not loving a thing. It’s harassment. It’s abusive behavior done by sexist, racist man babies. https://t.co/MpyhSMuu1h
— Cher (@thecherness) June 5, 2018
Last year I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the beautiful #KellyMarieTran at Star Wars Celebration. You would be hard pressed to find a more genuinely kind & sweet soul. I can assure you that if this is the kind of person you feel the need to harass it is you who is empty. pic.twitter.com/clGZFSe9PT
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) June 5, 2018
At the time of the release of The Last Jedi, Tran explained how special it was to be welcomed into the Star Wars universe.
“So many people wish for something like this. I still don’t believe I’m doing it,” she said. “Rose is not an amazing pilot or a jedi. She’s strong in a different way.
“And I think that’s kinda how she holds her own… I’m making a Star Wars movie. I just feel so lucky to see how much work goes into everything and to see the end product. It’s been magical.”
Meanwhile, ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ has become the first Star Wars film to officially flop.
It’s the first movie within the franchise to make a loss during its second week in theatres, box office data reveals.
