Star Wars actor Kelly Marie Tran deletes Instagram posts after harassment
The Last Jedi actor erases all images from her personal Instagram account, leaving everyone wondering if angry Star Wars fans are to blame.
Kelly Marie Tran has deleted all the posts off her Instagram due to months of harassment she has received for her character Rose in #TheLastJedi pic.twitter.com/ipxdbDH30C
— Star Wars Facts (@SWTweets) June 5, 2018
Star Wars actor Kelly Marie Tran has apparently deleted the posts on her Instagram account, with only the message in her bio left that reads, "Afraid, but doing it anyway," and an Ewok emoji at the end.
There is speculation online about whether Tran's recent Instagram departure was due to harassment from people who were angry over her role as Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Just a taste of what she was dealing with pic.twitter.com/9dA6j9YMbM
— Paul B. (@trekkiebabble) June 5, 2018
When the movie came out in December, fans were quick to debate whether it was the most hated Star Wars film of the franchise. Some were so outraged by the storylines they demanded the movie be forever removed from Star Wars canon.
But now Tran's fans wonder if the same people caused the actor to leave Instagram. She has 194,000 followers.
Fans have been sharing screenshots from her Instagram posts (before they were erased) to show the level of harassment the actor regularly faced from upset Star Wars fans who blamed her for their dissatisfaction with the movie.
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has joined her fans to show support. On Wednesday Hamill tweeted a photo of himself hugging Tran with the caption: "What's not to love? #GetALifeNerds"
What's not to love?#GetALifeNerds pic.twitter.com/k1sa0X1qpg
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) June 6, 2018
Last year, Star Wars actor Daisy Ridley quit Instagram, saying she found social media interaction to be "bad for her mental health."
The Last Jedi actors aren't the only ones facing harassment. Fans who truly despised The Last Jedi went so far as to threaten the filmmaker responsible, director Rian Johnson, with death threats.
As we reported in our CNET special report iHate, online abuse is getting worse. And it exacts a very real toll on ordinary web-goers and celebrities alike.
