John’s rocket for Star Wars trolls

JOHN BOYEGA has slammed Star Wars “fans” following the torrent of online abuse suffered by some of his cast mates.

It comes on the back of certain so-called aficionados of the sci-fi franchise being highly critical of the more recent films and taking their frustrations out on the actors via their social media accounts. But Londoner John says they’re barking up the wrong tree as it is those responsible for casting who make the decisions. “If you don’t like Star Wars or the characters, understand that there are decisionmakers and harassing the actors/ actresses will do nothing,” he said on Twitter. “You’re not entitled to politeness when your approach is rude. Even if you paid for a ticket!

“To the majority of Star Wars fans thank you for supporting and putting yourselves in our shoes. You understand that there is a process, so much appreciated!”

The 26-year-old, who was born in Peckham, played Finn in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

His comments come just a week after his co-star Kelly Marie Tran, who was born in California to Vietnamese parents, quit Instagram after suffering months of racist and sexist abuse on the site. The actress, 29, who played Rose Tico in the movie, was left distressed by some vile comments and deleted all her Instagram posts and left a line in her biography that reads, “Afraid, but doing it anyway”.

Last year Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley quit social media, saying it was: “Highly unhealthy for people’s mental health.”

The next film in the franchise is due for release in December 2019.