'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn has blasted the fans of Star Wars franchise for their abusive behaviour and said they should “go to therapy”.
The 51-year-old director delivered the stinging critique on Twitter while responding to a report about Ahmed Best, who recently opened up about the backlash he received for playing Jar Jar Binks in the epic sci-fi franchise.
“People need to chill out,” Gunn wrote while sharing the report about Best. In subsequent tweets, Gunn said, “People responding to this post saying, 'Yeah, it wasn't the actor's fault! It was the writer's!' are missing the point. Critique it. Don't like it. But spewing hate and bile at individuals just doing their best to tell a story, even if the story sucks, is lame. Don't watch it!”
“'Star Wars' (or any movie) may be important to you, but it doesn't belong to you. If your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current 'Star Wars' is, or your childhood is ruined because you don't like something in a movie, go to therapy,” he added.
Best voiced Jar Jar Binks in George Lucas' prequel series – 'The Phantom Menace', 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith'. However, upon its debut, the character was ridiculed by fans and today it is considered one of the most hated characters in the history of the franchise.
In a post on Twitter, Best said he contemplated suicide after he faced resentment 20 years ago and added that it “still affects my career today”.
Most recently, actor Kelly Marie Tran was subjected to online abuse by Star Wars fans and it led her to wipe out her Instagram page. She played the character of Rose Tico in Rian Johnson's 'The Last Jedi'.
Before her, actor Daisy Ridley was also trolled by the fans for her looks and pro-gun control stance.