Jar Jar Binks is one of the most hated characters in theStar Warsuniverse and it’s not a secret. Jar Jar has become the punching bag of the franchise with even the cast and crew of otherStar Warsprojects stomping on the character. However, what many seem to forget is that Ahmed Best portrayed the character and the negative backlash almost led the actor to taking his own life. After admitting suicidal thoughts over the negativity, theStar Warsfan community reached out with intense support for Best.
Ahmed Besttook to Twitter to thankStar Warsfans for their outpouring of love and support that they gave to him. Best says that he was “overwhelmed” by the love and kindness that he was offered after admitting how theJar Jar Binks backlashhurt him personally. He closed by stating that all of the fan support means a lot to him. He had this to say.
“Thank you all for your love and kindness. It’s been overwhelming. I’m gonna start writing this show. Gonna need help cause I’ve never done this before. I will be trying stuff out and posting it here. Let folks know. Thanks for all your support. It means so very much to me.”
It’s been nearly 20 years since Jar Jar Binks was introduced into theStar Warsuniverse and the backlash was immediate. It was at a time before the internet was in every household, but hardcoreStar Warsfans let theiroutrage carry on over the years. Again, it’s not only fans who dumped on Ahmed Best’s performance as Jar Jar. Even J.J. Abrams, who some fans refer to as Jar Jar Abrams, wanted to kill off the character and publicly said so.
Mark Hamill has taken to praising Ahmed Best’s work as Jar Jar Binks over the years, stating that the character was supposed to be annoying. The Luke Skywalker actor even went as far as to joke that he liked Jar Jar better than Jabba the Hutt, but he did deem the Jar Jar Binks tongue candy to be the oddest of all of theStar Warsmerchandise until he remembered theTauntaun action figure with removable stomach. Hamill might be the nicest person in theStar Warsuniverse.
Both Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley havedeleted their social media accountsafter getting attacked by angryStar Warsfans online. Ridley claims that social media is bad for mental health when you’re a person in the public eye. It only seems to be getting worse in the case of trolls unloading on to the actors and actresses who portray fictional characters on social media. At least Ahmed Best was able to get something positive out of sharing his experience with fans. You can read the response to theStar Warsfans and their outpouring of support below, thanks toAhmed Best’s Twitteraccount.
