The internet can be a vile place, particularly for celebrities who run afoul of awful Internet trolls.
The latest individual to fall victim to the wrath of the trolls is Kelly Marie Tran, who lit up screens last year as Rose Tico in The Last Jedi.
According to the Star Wars Facts Twitter account, the online harassment has gotten so bad that Tran ended up wiping her Instagram account completely.
Kelly Marie Tran has deleted all the posts off her Instagram due to months of harassment she has received for her character Rose in #TheLastJedi pic.twitter.com/ipxdbDH30C
— Star Wars Facts (@SWTweets) June 5, 2018
Here’s what her account looks like now:
For a taste of the sort of hate and harassment Tran received for her portrayal of Rose, particularly from within the Star Wars fandom, you need only google “The Last Jedi Rose Reddit” to find a series of threads with titles like “Did anyone else absolutely despise Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi?”
Where there are grotesque human beings, however, there are rays of light that remind us that not every member of a vocal fanbase are miserable human beings.
As Twitter user Weeb (@ODMAN03) reminds us:
Jesus Christ. Disliking a character is okay, disliking the actor is okay, but harrasing someone for a role in a mobie they stared in is not
— weeb (@ODMAN03) June 5, 2018
In the wake of the news that Tran was compelled to leave Instagram, many Star Wars fans have come to Tran’s defense:
People need to understand that the actors are not the characters
— The Bipolar Psychopath (@HarryMarques) June 5, 2018
I hope everyone is happy now. She’s such a beautiful person and has such a kind heart. She was so excited for this role and people ruined it for her. I’m so sorry she has to deal with this.
— Gabrielle ◢ ◤ (@PredsFanGabby) June 5, 2018
Hi if you think Kelly Marie Tran / Rose Tico's presence in Star Wars changed the franchise for the better, please RT so we can drown out the manbabies. pic.twitter.com/Q95CGI4lcY
— Suzie Samin (@suzannesamin) June 5, 2018
Even Cher came to Tran’s defense:
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
And there’s a whole lot of love on Instagram for Tran as well:
It should not be forgotten that Tran was the first woman of color to have a lead role in a Star Wars film, and this pattern of online abuse is reminiscent of how John Boyega was received as the first African American lead in a Star Wars film in The Force Awakens.
Do better, Star Wars fans.
H/T: Jezebel, Twitter, Huffington Post
