Half a year ago Ahmed Best, the actor who portrayed Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” back when he was a young struggling actor living in New York City, briefly spoke on Twitter about how he was impacted by what has become much more commonplace in the age of social media – toxic fandom.
The impact that harassment, which took on violent and often racist overtones, had on Best’s mental well being cut him deeply and pushed him to near suicide. Best, who now seems to be in a much better place, came forward with his story which he still finds hard to talk about.
Similar incidents of harassment have driven other actors involved with the movies like Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley to take measures to protect themselves against those who feel that their fandom entitles them to abuse. Now Best has offered up his full story in an eleven-minute video piece for SoulPancake, including the reaction he received to his tweets and how that impacted him. Check out the clip in full below:
