Last week, I published an article titled "The Year Star Wars Fans Finally Ruined Star Wars." In it, I very specifically discussed the loud section of Star Wars fans who have spent the year attacking the film, its director, and its actors with misogynist and racist online harassment.



It seems a lot of readers either A) didn't read the article, or B) took this as an excuse to get angry online—because, holy shit, these people went absolutely batshit crazy.

I find it hilarious that people can get so worked up over a family-oriented sci-fi film that they'll say some truly unhinged shit online. I also found it hilarious that at least two (2) different people spent the time to make 30-minute videos discussing my article.

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I didn't watch either, but one was made by some person named Doomcock (a legitimately good name, I'll admit), who speaks with some sort of Darth Vader voice effect and looks like a low-rent Phantom of the Paradise:

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Other responses to me were less eloquent. Many of these tweets told me to "kindly fuck off bitch." They called me an SJW, a shill (god, how I wish I were making that Disney money), "a whipped little boy. Trying to get in on the feminist world." They've asked, "how many cocks in shitney you suck?" (I don't actually understand this one.) In my comments, I learned what the term "NPC" means (it's a new pro-Trump insult, comparing me to a programmed bot that regurgitates progressive talking points). They said I was one of the "crazy misandrist sjw hags who hate men." They claimed Kelly Marie Tran's online harassment was actually faked by Disney. They called for me to get fired.

It's truly a bunch of absurd shit, and it's exactly what I was talking about: The fandom has become toxic.

My article points to the racist campaign against The Last Jedi and specifically calls out the far-right movement that attempts to control the narrative and conversation surrounding Star Wars. Plenty of fans agreed with my article. But even more took it as an excuse to get mad online. I got a lot of this: I'm not a racist, but I just didn't like Star Wars: The Last Jedi.



Let me be very clear, folks: I don't care if you hated Space Vegas. I don't care if you thought Luke's characterization was wrong. I don't care if you hated Kylo's shirtless scene. I'm not talking about you! I very clearly differentiate between fans who dislike the film for legitimate creative reasons and the fans who piled on the film because they don't agree with Lucasfilm's casting of non-white actors and some of its progressive themes. These are two very different groups. Fans are more than welcome to dislike The Last Jedi for legitimate filmmaking reasons. (To an extent, that is. I mean, calm down.) What's not fine is the pervasive online harassment of actors like Kelly Marie Tran, who was driven off social media because of racist and misogynist attacks.

The response to this article demonstrated that there's a core section of the Star Wars fandom that is rotten. And it's amplified by pervasive social media harassment and vocal far-right abusers.

Anyway, thanks for proving my point, trolls.

Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

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