"Star Wars doesn't belong to you": Guardians director James Gunn blasts vile trolls telling them to 'go to therapy'
When it comes to fandoms, Star Wars loyalists have earned a reputation for their stringent outlook and frequent backlash that they, without any hesitation, heap on the actors, writers, and directors involved with the franchise. So much so, that many a time stars working towards bringing the favorite sci-fi characters to life have even complained about being pushed to the edge - case in point, Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best's latest confession about feeling suicidal following the outrage over 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace'.
His candid post - a picture of him and his son, as he opens up about taking a drastic step some 20 years back - has since found an outpouring of support from both his fans, Star Wars colleagues, as well as a filmmaker from another cinematic universe, James Gunn. The director of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise not only called out the vindictive nature of the trolls in such cases but also urged fans to critique and not spew hate.
It all began with Gunn sharing a news report about Best's tweet, suggesting "people need to chill out." Unsurprisingly, the response was met with a flood of comments, including some supportive ones. But as it turned out, most fan responses were half-baked, in the sense they didn't get the true meaning or understand the real implication of the unwarranted criticism.
"People responding to this post saying, 'Yeah, it wasn’t the actor’s fault! It was the writer’s!' are missing the point. Critique it. Don’t like it," Gunn wrote responding to the slew of comments and setting the record straight. "But spewing hate and bile at individuals just doing their best to tell a story, even if the story sucks, is lame. Don’t watch it!"
It is safe to say that Gunn almost launched a scathing attack on the vile online trolls, who have time and again targetted the creatives with their barrage of hurtful and even offensive comments. Concluding his rant, the Marvel director added, "Star Wars (or any movie) may be important to you, but it doesn’t belong to you. If your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current Star Wars is, or your childhood is ruined because you don’t like something in a movie, GO TO THERAPY."
Gunn's tweets come shortly after Best's moving post. Taking to Twitter the actor, who is known for voicing the character of Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise, recently made a brutally honest confession that is more applicable than ever in the current toxic environment surrounding fandoms.
Ironically, Best is only one amongst the many others whose careers have been seriously affected by the ongoing backlash. From iconic filmmaker Chris McQuarrie to stars like Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen, and Kelly Marie Tran, the Star Wars drama has, over time, proven to be more than just a social media outrage.