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J.J. Abrams Tweets Message To #BoycottStarWarsVII Trolls Ahead Of ‘The Force Awakens’ Trailer Release

By Patricia Didelot
Published on: 01:52 PST, Oct 20, 2015

Director J.J. Abrams shared a handwritten message aimed at the #BoycottStarWarsVII trolls on Twitter ahead of the final the Force Awakens trailer.

A group of angry fans calling themselves #BoycottStarWarsVII on Twitter are promising to do just that between now and the time the J.J. Abrams blockbuster lands in theaters on December 18. They argue the movie is “promoting white genocide” because of all the different ethnicities present in the Force Awakens cast.

Apparently, this group has a problem with black Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), the female villain, Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), the Latin X-Wing pilot, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata. Not only do the #BoycottStarWarsVII haters have a problem with the cast, but with J.J. Abrams himself. Check out this nasty tweet.

J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President and The Force Awakens producer Kathleen Kennedy have made it no secret that they were trying to diversify the cast as much as possible. Fans were claiming the original trilogy was anything but diverse with mostly white, male characters, even though creator George Lucas included Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and the voice of James Earl Jones (Darth Vader). However, there was only one main female character, Princess Leia, and she was the classic good girl if feistier than most.

For The Force Awakens, we will see a range of minorities represented, and female characters such as Captain Phasma will have non-traditional roles. This has angered what many are calling the “racist” group #BoycottStarWarsVII,” who started their campaign as the final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer was released by Disney during Monday Night Football.

Right before the awaited clip debuted on ESPN, J.J. Abrams took to Twitter to invite everyone, including those attempting to spoil the biggest party of the decade, to watch and enjoy the amazing Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer with this handwritten note.

The Star Wars fan base is notorious for being difficult to please, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams is not the first to face the ire of more traditionalist groups within the larger Star Wars followers. Star Wars: Aftermath author Chuck Wendig was forced to respond to complaints about an openly gay character in his novel, but he didn’t mince words for his critics.

“If you’re upset because I put gay characters and a gay protagonist in the book, I got nothing for you. Sorry, you squawking saurian — meteor’s coming. And it’s a fabulously gay Nyan Cat meteor with a rainbow trailing behind it and your mode of thought will be extinct. You’re not the Rebel Alliance. You’re not the good guys. You’re the f**** Empire, man. You’re the sh****, oppressive, totalitarian Empire.”

Despite not mentioning the #BoycottStarWarsVII group, J.J. Abrams was clearly addressing them in his very classy invitation. As expected, the boycott threats have angered millions of loyal Star Wars fans, who have come to The Force Awakens’ defense on social media.

Things are certainly getting heated between those defending J.J. Abrams and his Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the #BoycottStarWarsVII group. The blockbuster is expected to earn record revenues at the box office when it opens in theaters in just two months.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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