Sen. Ted Cruz got in a Twitter battle with actor Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill and Ted Cruz got into a Twitter battle Sunday, but Cruz lost terribly. This quickly prompted dozens of memes. Mark Hamill and Ted Cruz got into a Twitter battle Sunday, but Cruz lost terribly. This quickly prompted dozens of memes. Photo: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images, Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press Photo: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images, Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Sen. Ted Cruz got in a Twitter battle with actor Mark Hamill 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

On Sunday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter to use a "Star Wars" reference about net neutrality to actor Mark Hamill.

"@HammillHimself Luke, I know Hollywood can be confusing, but it was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet. That's why giant corps (Google, Facebook, Netflix) supported the FCC power grab of net neutrality," Cruz tweeted at Hamill Sunday, using the incorrect Twitter handle for Hamill.

NET NEUTRALITY DEFINED: Battle over net neutrality is far from over

"Reject the dark side: Free the net!" Cruz concluded his tweet.

.@HammillHimself Luke, I know Hollywood can be confusing, but it was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet. That's why giant corps (Google, Facebook, Netflix) supported the FCC power grab of net neutrality. Reject the dark side: Free the net! https://t.co/nARkMvIEYk — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 17, 2017

Within an hour, the veteran "Star Wars" actor fired back with a quick response.

"Thanks for smarm-spaining it to me," Hamill wrote. "I know politics can be confusing, but you'd have more credibility if you spelled my name correctly. I mean IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU! Maybe you're just distracted from watching porn at the office again."

Thanks for smarm-spaining it to me @tedcruz I know politics can be confusing, but you'd have more credibility if you spelled my name correctly. I mean IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU! Maybe you're just distracted from watching porn at the office again-mh https://t.co/nHpJVG1Wpe — @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 17, 2017

THE EXPLINATION: Ted Cruz 'likes' NSFW porn video post on Twitter

Hamill's porn reference refers to Cruz's official Twitter account "liking" a porn video earlier this year, which the Republican senator blamed on a staffing issue.

The actor's diss prompted dozens of Twitter users to react to the exchange with hilarious memes.

What prompted this Twitter exchange was a tweet sent by Hamill Saturday morning criticizing the Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai for invoking Star Wars in a video defending the repeal of net neutrality rules. In his tweet, Hamill calls Pai "profoundly unworthy" of using a lightsaber.

"Cute video Ajit 'Aren't I Precious?' Pai but you are profoundly unworthy 2 wield a lightsaber-A Jedi acts selflessly for the common man-NOT lie 2 enrich giant corporations. Btw-did you pay John Williams his royalty?" Hamill wrote Saturday.

Cute video Ajit "Aren't I Precious?" Pai 🤮-but you are profoundly unworthy 2 wield a lightsaber-A Jedi acts selflessly for the common man-NOT lie 2 enrich giant corporations. Btw-did you pay John Williams his royalty? @AjitPaiFCCorpShill #AJediYouAreNOT pic.twitter.com/SpIcOEySUY — @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 16, 2017

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Hours later, Cruz replied to Hamill with two more tweets to follow up on his debate about net neutrality.

"Yes, that's it. So sorry to misspell your name. Respond with facts, but with anger. Who was it that said, "Fear is the path to the dark side...fear leads to anger...anger leads to hate"? (1/2)

"(2/2) Rather than insults, try civil discussion of facts. Fact 1: until 2015, the FCC had NO authority over Internet. The Net grew free & unregulated. Fact 2: W/ 'net neutrality the FCC declared power to regulate everything said& done on the Internet. That's really bad for freedom."

Yes, that's it. So sorry to misspell your name. Respond not with facts, but with anger. Who was it that said, "Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate"? (1/2) https://t.co/uwMMzgKC1R — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 17, 2017 (2/2) Rather than insults, try civil discussion of facts. Fact 1: until 2015, the FCC had NO authority over Internet. The Net grew free & unregulated. Fact 2: W/ "net neutrality" the FCC declared power to regulate everything said & done on Internet. That's really bad for freedom. https://t.co/uwMMzgKC1R — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 17, 2017

Following Cruz's clapback, some Twitter users reacted with more memes and their opinions, including a photoshopped photos of Cruz as a jedi and his role in "protecting the empire."

As of Monday morning, Hamill didn't directly respond to Cruz, but he later took to Twitter to address a fan of the Twitter battle saying in part, "My only regret is that 280 characters are just not enough to unpack all the lies & the stupid contained in just one @tedcruz tweet."

Much appreciated @BillyBaldwin! Aside from leaving an "L" out of "smarm-spLaining"-my only regret is that 280 characters are just not enough to unpack all the lies & the stupid contained in just one @tedcruz tweet. #CondescendingCruz #MuellerIsOurOnlyHope https://t.co/BH3h3ZlyLm — @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 18, 2017

On Thursday, the Republican-led FCC vote to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules, which requires internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally.

Heather Leighton is a digital reporter at Chron.com. She considers herself as a Jack(ie) of all trades and covers various topics from entertainment to politics. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on Twitter at @loveheathernoel.