British actor Simon Pegg (52) is apparently not a big friend of the "Star Wars" fan base. On the SiriusXM radio show Jim and Sam, he was asked which franchise was the hardest to please fans. According to the Daily Mail, Pegg immediately responded with "Star Wars". The movie star added that the sci-fi franchise's fan base seems to be "really the most toxic" right now.
Pegg, who is considered a big "Star Wars" fan himself, does not exclude himself. He behaved badly himself when he blasphemed about "Jar Jar Binks" at the start of the film "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999), behind which actor Ahmed Best (48) stood. Pegg said he apologized for the things he said at the time "because of course there was an actor involved." Best lent his movements and voice to the computer-generated character. Because there was a lot of hate at the time, Ahmed Best suffered a lot, Pegg said, "and I feel terrible to have been a part of it."
Several "Star Wars" actors have in the past spoken openly about online hate comments they received after appearing in the franchise. This includes Kelly Marie Tran (33), who starred in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017) and was subsequently racially abused on social media. John Boyega (30), who has played stormtrooper Finn in the franchise's new films since 2015, has also faced racist attacks.
Just like Moses Ingram (28), who was seen in the new mini-series "Obi-Wan Kenobi". She also recently revealed that she has received racist messages from "Star Wars" fans. Her employer Disney then backed the actress. The production company released a clear statement on Twitter. "We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the 'Star Wars' family and are excited to see how Reva's story will unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel unwelcome, we only have one thing to do to say: We resist," the post reads. "There are more than 20 million sentient species in the 'Star Wars' universe, don't be racist," the company added in the first post.
According to Simon Pegg, there is a franchise that is much better in this area. "I think the 'Star Trek' fans have always been very, very open," he said in the radio interview, according to media reports. "Star Trek is about diversity. It's been that way since 1966, it's always been that way." There they were "woke" from the start.
Simon Pegg himself appeared in "Star Wars" and "Star Trek". He played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth films of the "Star Trek" series and in 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
