Lucasfilm executive Pablo Hidalgo apologized to the “Star Wars” fan behind the popular YouTube channel Star Wars Theory after seemingly mocking his tearful reaction to “The Mandalorian” Season 2 finale.
Over the weekend, Hidalgo, a Lucasfilm story executive who has a private Twitter account, tweeted, “emotions are not to be shared” in response to a thread with the reaction video. He later deleted the tweet and posted a screenshot of it as his header image on Twitter after “Star Wars” fans began to make his name trend on the site.
“I wish to clarify that my post that ’emotions are not to be shared’ was sarcastic self-mockery and was certainly not intended to be hurtful to anyone and I’m deeply sorry that it was. As a lifelong fan, I appreciate fans expressing how they feel – it’s what being a fan is about,” Hidalgo said late Monday. “We can’t all be together in movie theaters or at conventions right now, so express yourself online! (In fact, those of us not prone to such displays will quietly live vicariously through your energy.)”
https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/1343685985041694720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343685985041694720%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2020%2Ftv%2Fnews%2Fstar-wars-theory-pablo-hidalgo-luke-skywalker-1234875850%2F
Spoilers for “The Mandalorian” below
Back on Dec. 17, the YouTuber behind the Star Wars Theory channel, who also goes by the name Toos, livestreamed his reaction to the Season 2 finale of “The Mandalorian.” During the episode’s final minutes, he became emotional and started weeping as Luke Skywalker appeared in a flashy action sequence.
On Monday, Toos caught wind of Hidalgo’s reaction and asked, “How is this acceptable from someone so high up at Lucasfilm? You’re telling people it’s not ok to have emotions about the work your company produces, and you make fun of them for crying? Not ok.”
He then posted a separate video titled “Pablo Hidalgo Makes Fun of Me For Crying Luke Skywalker Reaction,” in which he explained how his “Star Wars” fandom inspired him as he was battling cancer. The video had over 630,000 views at time of writing.
“What I don’t think is okay is when a Lucasfilm official is chiming in and gaslighting these sorts of behaviors of undermining one’s emotions to something their own company created,” Toos said in his video. “I think it doesn’t look good for the brand of ‘Star Wars’ or Lucasfilm or Disney, or what they preach about inclusivity.”
Others online criticized Toos for willfully misreading Hidalgo’s sarcastic response and using it to drive viewership to his YouTube channel.
See Toos’ initial reaction to Hidalgo’s tweet below:
https://twitter.com/SWTheory66/status/1343429237018034176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343429237018034176%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2020%2Ftv%2Fnews%2Fstar-wars-theory-pablo-hidalgo-luke-skywalker-1234875850%2F