Originally published July 17, 2019. Updated July 18, 2019.
Daisy Ridley, the star of the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, has commented on the at time “vicious” responses to The Last Jedi on social media.
Unfortunately, it seems to be a consistent theme these days that overzealous fans react in an aggressive manner online when a film or TV show doesn’t meet their demands – going beyond simple constructive criticism.
Daisy Ridley has been witness to this with The Last Jedi and she spoke to Bustle about working so hard on the film, only for some social media users to trash it: “It’s great that people are expressive of their views. But this is people’s jobs. People worked really, really hard on that thing. I think there’s a way of having a discussion that isn’t so vicious.”
Pointing out the false sense of importance that social media has given some people, she noted: “Because if you’ve got however many followers, and you write something that you think is, like, so deep, and a hundred people like it, it’s constant reinforcement.”
Ridley has shut down her social media accounts, which has helped her avoid harassment but, unfortunately, this cultural attitude has even pushed someone to confront her in person: “I was at my friend’s birthday and one of her friends, who I barely know, was like, ‘Hey, really liked the first Star Wars. Didn’t really like the second one,’ and I thought, ‘That’s rude, dude! That’s my job!'”
Hopefully, the vast majority of people appreciate the hard work that has gone into these movies and will realise that they are here for our entertainment, therefore reigning in their anger when they don’t like what they see.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set for release on December 20th 2019 with J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Mabeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
