Entertainment
Simon Pegg finds Star Wars fandom ‘most toxic at the moment’: ‘It’s really sad’-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro
The actor had a small role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Simon had a small role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Simon Pegg has opened up on what he feels to be a ‘sad’ side of the Star Wars fandom, describing it as ‘the most toxic at the moment’, in his opinion.
Earlier this year, the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus saw Reva actor Moses Ingram suffer racist abuse online, prompting Star Wars to release an official statement saying: ‘ If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.’
In a new interview, Simon – who plays Scotty in Star Trek and Jakku junkboss Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens – was asked what franchise he believes has ‘the hardest fans to please’, to which he responded: ‘Star Wars.’
‘To be honest – and as someone who kind of was, you know, kicked off about the prequels when they came out, the Star Wars fanbase really seems to be the most kind of toxic at the moment. I’m probably being very controversial to say that,’ he said.
Speaking on Sirius XM’s Jim and Sam radio programme, the 52-year-old admitted that ‘apologised’ in the past for being a part of the criticism levelled at the Star Wars prequel character Jar Jar Binks, played by Ahmed Best.
He continued: ‘I’ve apologised for the things I said about, you know, Jar Jar Binks. Because, of course, there was a f**king actor involved. He was getting a lot of flack and … it was a human being. And because it got a lot of hate, he suffered, you know, and I feel terrible about being part of that.’
John Cho, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Karl Urban and Zachary Quintoat Star Trek Beyond UK premiere in 2016 (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
On the other hand, Simon has felt that the ‘Star Trek fans have always been very, very inclusive’.
‘Star Trek’s about diversity. It has been since 1966, it always was. There’s no sort of like, “Oh, you’re suddenly being woke now.” Star Trek was woke from the beginning, you know?’ he stated.
‘They had a Japanese navigator just after the Second World War. There was a Black woman on the deck in a position of authority. This is massively progressive.
‘Star Wars, suddenly there’s, there’s a little bit more diversity and everyone’s kicking off about it. And it’s, it’s really sad.’
When Star Wars actor Moses spoke out about the racist abuse she was suffering on social media, she revealed to her fans that there were ‘hundreds’ of derogatory messages being sent her way.
Star Wars spoke out to support actor Moses Ingram after she suffered racist abuse (Picture: Lucasfilm Ltd)
‘I think the thing that bothers me is that like, sort of this feeling that I’ve had inside of myself. This feeling that no one has told me, but like I just got to shut up and take it. I just got to bury it. And I’m not built like that,’ she said.
To end her video, she added: ‘So I really just wanted to come on, I think, and say thank you to the people who show up for me in the comments and the places I’m not going to put myself. And to the rest of y’all, y’all weird.’
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