Kelly Marie Tran recently spoke publicly about the online harassment that eventually drove her off of social media, now a fellow Star Wars alum has some advice. Hayden Christensen knows a little bit about dealing with the ire of Star Wars fans, and when recently asked about what Tran was going through, he tried to remind her that the ones making the loudest noise are a minority of the people out there. According to Christensen...
I don't know if I have any advice for that, but just...you know, don't take it too seriously, because...unfortunately, [bullies] are the ones that make the most noise. But the majority of people don't feel that way, so, keep that in mind.
Hayden Christensen clearly feels a bit awkward answering the question from ET Canada, because it's always difficult to talk about how somebody else should handle a particular situation, but he tries to offer something that clearly is part of what he learned from a similar experience. Several months ago Kelly Marie Tran disappeared from social media and last week she published an op-ed in the New York Times in which she confirmed the reason for her departure was the harassment she had received online from people critical of her character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
While social media didn't exist in the same form two decades ago that it does now, it's a safe bet that, if it had, Hayden Christensen would have received similar treatment. He almost certainly did receive some bullying from those who had problems with the Star Wars prequels. It seems no corner of those movies was safe from some. Ahmed Best who played Jar Jar Binks recently revealed that he considered suicide as a result of the harassment he endured being in those films. Jake Lloyd who played the younger version Anakin Skywalker also was the victim of harassment.
While those with a bone to pick can certainly be loud, Hayden Christensen doesn't feel they represent the majority opinion and remembering that is his advice to Kelly Marie Tran. There's certainly some truth to that as the outpouring of support for Tran both after she left social media and since she made her public statement has been strong. Most notably, her Star Wars co-stars have backed her up, as have countless fans.
One of the great benefits of social media is the way that it can connect people, including connecting actors with their fans. It's a shame when the voices of some force people to have to step away from that connection for their own health. We will certainly see Kelly Marie Tran again in the forthcoming Star Wars Episode IX regardless of what the bullies think. What the future holds for Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars universe, if anything, remains to be seen.
