Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran: Leaving Social Media “Best Thing I Ever Did”

Star Wars fans are some of the best entertainment fans in the world. Unfortunately, on occasion, they can also be some of the worst. I wish we could say it’s a relatively new phenomenon, but Phantom Menace actors Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best would beg to differ. The latter even contemplated suicide following the harsh reaction to his Jar Jar Binks character.  Later, “fan” vitriol drove Star Wars sequel trilogy stars Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran from social media entirely. Tran recently reflected upon her decision to leave social media, a choice she deems as one of her best ever.

As all of Star Wars fandom knows, the “Rose Tico” actress left social media behind following the release of The Last Jedi. Her character carried the burden of poor writing and a seemingly pointless subplot. That was no fault of Kelly Maria Tran, though. Unfortunately, some so-called fans didn’t see it that way and took their anger out on Tran directly. She suffered months of misogynistic, sexist, racist, and often violent commentary and even threats directed her way. When enough was enough, she quietly slipped out of the social spotlight for good.

Kelly Marie Tran has no regrets leaving social media

I mean, I think that, you know, it’s a different decision for everyone. And I think that people should do what they think is right for them. I also think that … it was the best thing I ever did. I don’t know. It’s funny, it feels like people are still shocked by it sometimes. I’m like, no … I just did what was best for me.”

“I feel great about it,” she continued in her interview with EW. “Why is that so shocking?”

Thankfully her Star Wars experience didn’t dissuade Kelly Marie Tran from continuing her work in Hollywood. She’s currently starring in Hulu’s Monsterland, which hit the streaming service this past Friday. She’ll also voice the titular character of Raya in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon.

We here at That Hashtag Show certainly wish Kelly Marie Tran all the best. To paraphrase good ol’ Sheev Palpatine, we’ll continue to follow her career with great interest.

Source: EW