Kelly Marie Tran made a name for herself in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but the road to success was also paved with a lot of hate online. The actress notoriously left social media after receiving backlash from Star Wars fans who weren't pleased about her character in the last movie. At the time, the fan responses were rumored to be the cause of her quitting social media, but it was only recently that Tran revealed the rumors were fact. Now, she's speaking up about the purpose of social media and whether or not she would ever return to the platform. She said:
I think that there are, just like anything else, really good and really bad things that come with anything. I felt like I wanted to write something that was honest, that truly came from me and I don't know if I'll ever go back.
It's not a huge shock to hear the actress saying that she doesn't know if she will return to social media platforms like Instagram at any point. She's not the only actress to leave social media after dealing with hate from individuals online. Actors and actresses, including The Walking Dead's Josh McDermitt and The Meg's Ruby Rose, have left social following backlash, and McDermitt has even spoken out about the internet being "a dark and negative place," and have subsequently left social media due to those feelings. Ariana Grande recently turned comments off on her own Instagram after dealing with backlash following the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller.
While speaking to THR at the Toronto International Film Festival, Kelly Marie Tran was very clear about her expectations regarding social media. In fact, despite having left social media following appearing on the big screen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the actress says she does believe that social media can be wonderful, even if it can be awful, as well. Following people speaking out against Tran on social media, her coworkers on Star Wars were able to use the platform to come to the actress' defense, with both Mark Hamill and Rian Johnson tweeting out support for the actress.
Obviously, social media can be a fun place for celebrities to engage with fans, but when people get upset about a movie or TV project or about something that happened in pop culture, it can be a devastating place, as well. Still, regardless of the online atmosphere, Kelly Marie Tran still made history as an Asian actress in the Star Wars universe and will next be appearing in Star Wars: Episode IX when it hits theaters on December 20, 2019. We still have a ways to wait for the movie, but luckily, there are still plenty of fun movies hitting theater in the coming months.
