Harassment was so bad for the actor that played Jar Jar Binks that he said he contemplated suicide
Its worth noting that little of the harassment was directed at him. People just hated his character so much and he took it personally. Very few people could even tell you his name, and it really only started being known when he did come out about his mental suffering from the role. I get putting your all into a character and then it being the literal laughing stock of the decade hurts, but its important to note he wasn't being straight attacked.
He was also black, for what its worth and yet no one ever cares to bring him up about the racist fanbase.
I just now learned who he was. The whole thing was CGI so I wouldn’t see how you’d even connect it to him. I didn’t like the character but I’d never actually connect it with a human being and if I found out someone I knew voiced him, I’d just think ‘cool!’
Yeah, that's how most people were. They barely connected the dots that the CGI had a costumed actor in the scene being replaced.
And unlike Lloyd, who was undermining a beloved character people had built up for decades, or Christensen, whose own direct performance is what people hated, he was just a dude doing the stupid shit Lucas wrote. There was no saving that particular writing.
Even if one were to accept the angle of harassment against him, the literal canon has been shitting on Jar Jar ever since to massive applause. And not even that long ago it was still going on. That's why they never bring up his story when they cry racism, because its sanctioned hatred.
Its worth noting that little of the harassment was directed at him. People just hated his character so much and he took it personally. Very few people could even tell you his name, and it really only started being known when he did come out about his mental suffering from the role. I get putting your all into a character and then it being the literal laughing stock of the decade hurts, but its important to note he wasn't being straight attacked.
He was also black, for what its worth and yet no one ever cares to bring him up about the racist fanbase.
I just now learned who he was. The whole thing was CGI so I wouldn’t see how you’d even connect it to him. I didn’t like the character but I’d never actually connect it with a human being and if I found out someone I knew voiced him, I’d just think ‘cool!’
Yeah, that's how most people were. They barely connected the dots that the CGI had a costumed actor in the scene being replaced.
And unlike Lloyd, who was undermining a beloved character people had built up for decades, or Christensen, whose own direct performance is what people hated, he was just a dude doing the stupid shit Lucas wrote. There was no saving that particular writing.
Even if one were to accept the angle of harassment against him, the literal canon has been shitting on Jar Jar ever since to massive applause. And not even that long ago it was still going on. That's why they never bring up his story when they cry racism, because its sanctioned hatred.