The toxicity is strong with this fandom.
“Star Trek” actor Simon Pegg slammed fans of the “Star Wars” franchise for being “the most toxic fandom” Wednesday after being asked which franchise — out of “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and “Doctor Who” — had the hardest fans to please, reported Mediaite.
Pegg — who had stopped by SiriusXM’s “Jim and Sam” radio show — said that he believed that “Star Wars” fans were the hardest.
“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,” said Pegg.
“I’m probably being very controversial to say that,” he added.
The 52-year-old actor — who starred in 2015’s “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” — admitted that he, too, was once a toxic fan and contributed to the slamming of Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best when “The Phantom Menace” was released in 1999.
“I’ve apologized for the things I said about, you know, Jar Jar Binks,” said Pegg.
“Because, of course, there was a f- -king actor involved. He was getting a lot of flack and … it was a human being,” he continued. “And because it got a lot of hate, he suffered, you know, and I feel terrible about being part of that.”
Best — who was ridiculed for his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks — previously revealed that he once considered ending his life after backlash from fans.
More recently, Daisy Ridley, Kelly Marie Tran, John Boyega and newcomer Moses Ingram have all faced hateful fans, causing Ridley and Tran to leave social media for several months.
“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold,” the official Star Wars account said in a rare statement in response to backlash.
“If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.”
Pegg said that members of the “Star Trek” community, however, are the polar opposite.
“I find the ‘Star Trek’ fans have always been very, very inclusive — you know, ‘Star Trek’ [is] about diversity. It has been since 1966, it always was,” said the “Shaun of the Dead” actor.
“‘Star Trek’ was woke from the beginning, you know? … This is massively progressive. ‘Star Wars,’ suddenly there’s a little bit more diversity and everyone’s kicking off about it,” he said. “And it’s, it’s really sad.’”
