Ahmed Best, the actor known for playing Jar Jar Binks throughout the Star Wars prequels, revealed earlier this week that the backlash to his goofy CG character was so intense he almost took his own life.
Via Twitter, Best opened up about his suicidal thoughts, admitting that it’s now coming up on 20 years since he faced a resentment “that still affects my career today.” The Phantom Menace initially released back in ’99 and was Ahmed Best’s first major film role.
While Jar Jar might have played well with children, and therefore gained the backing of franchise creator George Lucas, many people made clear their hatred and overall disdain for the clumsy Gungan – so much so, that Ahmed Best received death threats at the age of 25. After revealing that shocking news the other day, the actor saw an outpouring of support from filmmakers, celebrities and, of course, his fans, and he’s now taken to Twitter once more to thank everyone.
“Thank you all for your love and kindness. It’s been overwhelming. I’m gonna start writing this show. Gonna need help cause I’ve never done this before. I will be trying stuff out and posting it here. Let folks know. Thanks for all your support. It means so very much to me.”
Though very few would argue that Jar Jar Binks was a positive addition to the Star Wars franchise, a character should never, ever, prompt a mass outpouring of hate and toxicity toward its creator/actor. There are human beings behind those frames, just like you and I – human beings that spent months (if not years) poring over the final cut to deliver a product worthy of your time.
As such, it’s nice to see that so many people stood up for Best this week after his revelation and though we’re sure that some folks will still never get over their hatred of Jar Jar, hopefully this whole situation will have fans easing up on all the negativity they’ve been directing at the Star Wars actor for all these years.
