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The following is an opinion piece about comments made about toxicity from Obi-Wan’s Ewan McGregor.
If you look up the definition of fandom, you may stumble across Wikipedia, which reads – “A subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.”
And while the original root word stems from fanatic – someone devoted to a topic, subject, or passion – the core beliefs and essence in that definition is not meant in any way to embody racism, toxicity, homophobia, or any other nasty traits that have stained culture over the years.
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In fact, fandom originated in friendship, support, and the outcast having a place in the world with others who also needed kindness and love.
If you are a Star Wars fan, by now you’ve probably heard about the horrible treatment Obi-Wan Kenobi actress Moses Ingram has faced online from toxic fans simply for playing a make-believe character on screen that some fans of a “galaxy far, far away” may not like.
This treatment of the actress has included death threats, comments about the color of her skin, and more absolutely abhorrent behavior that has absolutely no place in Star Wars, fandom, or anywhere in the world for that matter.
The treatment was so horrendous that Obi-Wan himself, Ewan McGregor, took to social media to post a video slamming the behavior and making his thoughts as executive producer of the show, in addition to its key star, very clear.
“You’re no Star Wars fan … in my book,” he said of those attacking Ingram. And guess what — he’s 100% right.
Over the years, Star Wars has meant so much to so many. But there have certainly been some bad apples.
Kelly Marie Tran faced similar racist backlash after the release of The Last Jedi, simply because some did not like her character’s relationship with another character … aka Finn.
Do you think this kind of behavior is what George Lucas had in mind more than 40 years ago when he decided to create this space opera? Yeah, I don’t think so either.
I’ve been to Star Wars Celebration, I’ve seen the mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and friends who’ve gathered every year to celebrate together since “A New Hope” debuted all those years ago, and I also don’t think any of those fans would ever want someone like Moses or Kelly or Hayden or Daisy or anyone to be treated this way just because of a role they play.
They would want fans to embrace these characters with open arms and if they did not like what they saw on screen, discuss it, debate it, but be civil, cordial, and empathetic.
It’s ironic that those values so easily resemble the hope, the rebellion and the love we’ve seen from the light side all these years and the toxic behavior is far worse than the dark side could ever imagine.
So yeah, Ewan is dead-on when he says these so-called fans are not really fans in his book.
In fact, they’re not really fans in any book or any planet or any galaxy … either far away or more importantly, the one we live in and have to all share today.
