A LETTER to KATHLEEN KENNEDY… from STAR WARS' TOXIC FANBASE

A little love note to KATHLEEN KENNEDY after her recent comments about STAR WARS' apparently male-dominated, toxic fanbase.
For more SnarkyJay...

[ajaxjohnson]

It's funny. Star Wars NEVER had any issues with race or gender or any of that DISNEY GOT INVOLVED.

[swoozie]

Newsflash: Star Wars fans and nerds everywhere LOVE when they come across girls who are also into nerd culture.

[groovyengineer]

I was in an abusive relationship with Disney. I've moved on.

[Syryu]

Henry Cavill said it best: "When it comes to fans, it is a fan's right to have whatever opinion they want to have. People are going to be upset especially when you're talking about books or games because you're never going to be the exact person they had in their head or who they played in Witcher 3 for example. I don't necessarily consider that toxic, I just consider that passionate."

Even when people were complaining about the show and its changes, Henry Cavill never once insulted the fans or berated them for it. There's a reason fans hold him in such high regard even if they don't necessarily like his projects. He understands fandom and just wants to tell the best story possible and express as much as he can with the characters.

Disney seems to want full adulation and a pat on the back for doing the barest of minimums and they can't even do that right.

[XgoodbyeX]

As a wise man once said
"when it comes to fans, it is a fan's right to have whatever opinion they want to have, and  people are going to be upset... I don't necessarily consider that toxic. I just consider that passion." - Henry Cavill.

[k.s.n.]

"The more you Tighten your Grip, the more Star Systems will Slip Through your Fingers."
Princes Lea, Episode 4, 1977.

[mattrocco]

Them calling the fans toxic for not liking that garbage show is not going to make people watch it

[JonJuanSpeedgatoFigueroa]

57 year old, Mexican, socialist, male HATE what Kathleen Kennedy has done to Star Wars. We ALWAYS had representation. We ALWAYS had strong females, strong people of color and respect of the story.

[buzzfunk]

Exactly. Good point about Lando. As a kid, after Empire, everyone LOVED Lando. No one even realized he was black. He was just a well created and played character.

[stephenzajonc]

Disney has managed to make so many fans of Star Wars completely apathetic. You don’t kill a franchise by angering the fans, you kill it by making them not care.

[jamiebruggink]

As an old (53 years) white, male, star wars fan, good job Jay, couldn’t have said it better myself.

[kingforever]

As a Black Brazilian man, I want to tell you that your video expresses everything I feel as a fan of this franchise. Thank you so much.

[MultiMichael]

"Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made" - JRR Tolkien

[talisredstar]

Came here from Tyrone Magnus. Preach on Sister. I'm in my 40s now. My mother got me into Star Wars as a kid, home recording off of tv so I could watch those VHS tapes they almost fell apart. Breaking i don't know how many speed rewinders because I watched these films on repeat. My mother god rest her soul. Appreciated these films, but she loved that I loved them. I can still remember sitting on the wood floor head up watching the tv Listening to Master Yoda talk to Luke, and giggling every time Yoda Made a joke, or laughed. I loved the Original Films, and I adore the Prequels, because I love the Jedi. And the Prequels gave me more lore, story, and world building for the Jedi, and the Sith. To me that is Star Wars. The Jedi and the Sith. Good vs Black. In a black and white setting because that is how George Lucas setup his story.

This isn't GoT. It is Science Fantasy. In Fantasy, its Good vs Evil, no agendas, no narratives to push. Just a hero's journey, the dark times, and the struggle to lead to a well earned Triumphant End. We don't need woke, because George Lucas gave us a great story, with diversity, and well written characters, and in essence was "woke" before that was ever even a thing. Stop trying to put your stamp on things and give us what we, the people that line your pockets want, or like Snark Jay said. One day I too might be one of those people cheering when this IP that I love so much, fails.

[wkanost]

I’m sixty one now. In May 1977 I was thirteen. I was already a fan of scifi like Star Trek, Space:1999, 2001, Logan’s Run, Planet of the Apes, Westworld (1973), Silent Running and so on. We watched ALL of these films and TV shows religiously. When it was released, It was as though Star Wars was made for me. I’m an old white guy but I have loved and given to, and supported this franchise since day one. In 1980 my Mom had a broken ankle, we STILL went to the cinema to watch The Empire Strikes Back and she was on crutches. In 1983 I worked an all night shift, went home, changed clothes and drove to the theater, got in line for three hours to see Return of the Jedi opening day on no sleep. 1999, my daughter was a tiny baby and we got a sitter to go see Phantom Menace opening weekend. These films had a history with me and my family. These are valuable memories to me. Now…I don’t care what they do. I guess I’m just part of the TOXIC fan base. The ones that do not matter to Kathleen Kennedy and her minions. They have destroyed Star Wars for me and that is a real shame.

[Nickodemus]

“House of the Dragon” has all colors, cultures, females/males leads and is ridiculously better written/acted than The Acolyte. Your excuses don’t fly with the audience Disney. You’re the problem Disney.

[Me__Myself__and__I]

I don't think the younger generations understand just how significant Star Wars was. It literally changed the world.

I personally saw it EIGHT TIMES during its initial release. The first time I had to stand in line with my parents for 12 hours to get in. The 5th time probably took 4-5 hours. The 8th was more like 1-2 hours and this was MONTHS after it had been released. Yes like 3-4 months after opening it was still impossible to get in without standing in line. The lines, particularly for the first couple months, wrapped around the movie theaters multiple times forming rings of people waiting just to buy tickets. It was insane. And EVERYONE was doing it, it wasn't just nerds & geeks standing in those lines because everyone wanted to see it.

When Star Wars first came out there weren't actually many movie theaters and almost all of them were single screen theaters (maybe a few double screens). Its directly because of Star Wars that multi-plex theaters were born! Between Star Wars and Empire there was a massive effort to build more theaters. When Empire rolled out it opened in new, small (3-5 screen) multi-plexes. My first viewing of Empire still required standing in line 3 hours.

The fans are very serious about Star Wars. Particularly the old-school ones, it takes dedication to stand in line 8+ hours to see a movie and then repeat that multiple times.

I remember a friend who literally had converted his entire garage into building and storing Star Wars related things (he had a 6 foot diameter Millennium Falcon hanging in the middle). And this was a guy that people would not consider a nerd/geek - he just loved SW that much.

And never once was there anything toxic and unfriendly. Even after standing in line for hours in the hot sun people were still friendly. Star Wars fans were united in their love of the franchise. If you loved SW it didn't matter who you were or what you did otherwise.

These are the people these idiotic, clueless interlopers are calling "toxic fans". They should really take a look in the mirror because all this toxicity they keep talking about - its just projection. They are the ones what are toxic and divisive. Not only are they destroying the IP but they are literally making EVERYTHING they touch worse with no actual benefit. How they still have jobs is truly beyond comprehension.

[FroggeeSB]

I am a female who grew up with original movies. I loved the diverse characters; the world building and storytelling. I introduced my now 28yr son, we even went to the prequels together this year to celebrate that. Now Disney tell us we are am not their preferred audience; we should not have an opinion; we should both just shut up and love it. I don’t love it and I am no longer financing your disdain Disney.

Now lets breakout the blurays — thankfully I grabbed those when Disney told me they couldn’t be bothered making them for their Australian customers anymore (apparently countries outside America is also on their hit list).

[Ianmundo]

if Disney wants to turn this ship around, they have to fire Kennedy. She has hired people who obviously don’t care about Star Wars, and encouraged them to make a mockery of what was a beloved fictional universe

[Gabberss]

“When you’re turning it into the planet destroying empire we’ve been rebelling against since 1977” bars! Well said