Simon Pegg says Star Wars has the ‘most toxic’ fandom

‘I’m probably being very controversial to say that,’ actor said

Simon Pegg has labelled the Star Wars fandom as “toxic”.

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Jim and Sam radio show, when the 52-year-old actor was asked what franchise has “the hardest fans to please,” he replied by saying: “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,” Pegg said. “I’m probably being very controversial to say that.”

The Man Up star also admitted that he himself was once a “toxic” Star Wars fan as he spoke against Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace opened in theaters.

“I’ve apologised for the things I said about, you know, Jar Jar Binks,” Pegg said. “Because, of course, there was a f***ing 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.”

Many Star Wars actors have been victims of online harassment in the past years.

Moses Ingram (Star Wars)

Last year, Kelly Marie Tran quit social media for “her own sanity” amid vicious trolling at the hands of Star Wars fans.

Tran portrayed Rose Tico in 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and experienced months of racist and sexist abuse in the aftermath of its release.

In 2018, she wrote an essay for The New York Times about her experiences of online bullying, writing: “Their words seemed to confirm what growing up as a woman and a person of colour already taught me: that I belonged in margins and spaces, valid only as a minor character in their lives and stories.”

Earlier this year, Star Wars also came to the defence of Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram on its official Twitter account after the actor received racist abuse online.

“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist,” the tweet read.

It continued: “There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.”

The statement came hours after Ingram, who plays an Imperial Inquisitor out to hunt Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan in the series, posted a series of abusive, racist comments she had received on her Instagram Story.

Some of the comments included: “You’re days are numbered [sic]” and “You suck loser. You’re a diversity hire and you won’t be loved or remembered for this acting role.”

Ewan McGregor also condemned the racist abuse received by Ingram, in a video message posted by the official Star Wars Twitter account.

“Don’t choose to be a racist,” he said. “It seems that some of the fan base has decided to attack Moses Ingram online and send her the most horrendous, racist DMs. I heard some of them this morning, and it just broke my heart.”