John Boyega draws flak from 'Star Wars' fandom for comments implying Kelly Marie Tran was 'weak'
It's a day of peak outrage for the 'Star Wars' fandom. First, over comments by director JJ Abrams, criticizing Rian Johnson's 'meta approach' to 'The Last Jedi.' The New York Times article reporting those comments also contained comments from John Boyega, who plays Finn in the recent 'Star Wars' sequels.
Boyega revealed his dissatisfaction with the film, which brought up fierce debate amongst the 'Star Wars' fandom. Internet outrage ramped up, however, as in an interview with Variety, John Boyega was asked about dealing with fans online, and some of his comments have been construed to be statements on co-star Kelly Marie Tran being 'weak.'
In response to massive harassment from the 'Star Wars' fandom, who hated both 'The Last Jedi' and her role in it as Rose Tico, Kelly Marie Tran removed herself from Twitter. The incident was referred to in the Variety interview, as John Boyega was asked about dealing with vocal and negative fandom. In response, Boyega said that while social media can be a place for fun, "for those who are not mentally strong, you are weak to believe in every single thing that you read."
He did not clarify as to what things people may be reading, or who would be reading them, but for many fans, it seems to imply that he is saying Kelly Marie Tran was "weak" for believing the things her harasser said to her online. Some fans asked for more clarification, with one saying, "can someone please come forward and clarify his comments?....cause if this is about KMT, then this is... really terrible."
Most users, however, seem to be taking the comment as an undebatable criticism on Boyega's part on how Tran handled the harassment she received. One user on Twitter posted a link to the article, and a screenshot of the quote, saying, "yeah so here's a direct quote of john boyega insinuating kelly marie tran is "weak" for how she dealt with TLJ backlash. i'm... i just... wow. " Another fan said, "John Boyega not liking tlj and saying it it's ok because after all it's his opinion, but calling Kelly Marie Tran weak is just a huge yikes."
In the interview, he also commented on the heated debates between fandoms who ship certain character romances. "What I don’t like is the conflict between ‘ships. I think it’s the most stupid thing in the world. This is “Star Wars.” It’s a big universe."
There are those who come to John Boyega's defence in regards to his comments on 'The Last Jedi', claiming the outrage over his comments is fueled by racism. One fan notes "oh i see, so adam driver is allowed to subtly diss tlj but god forbid john boyega make a similar comment because his job is to "act" right."
Another user said, "I’m not surprised the fake woke liberal side of the Star Wars fandom turned on John Boyega so quickly. You guys hate it when anyone “other” whether it be Black folks non-black people of color or lgbtq folksndon’t tap dance for you."
There is, however, little to no defence on Boyega's comments about Kelly Marie Tran, aside from those who believe that his comments were misconstrued, like this user, who says "I HAVE to believe Boyega just misspoke or missed the part of the question that was specifically about Kelly Marie Tran. I've never heard an actor go in like this about another actor on a movie press tour, ever. Not once."
John Boyega, who generally has an active presence online, has not yet clarified his statements.
'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' releases in cinemas on December 20.