Simon Pegg earned the wrath of the Dark Side of the Force when he said that “Star Wars” fans are currently pop culture’s “most toxic” fanbase – and are far worse than what he sees from “Star Trek” fans, in particular.
Stopping by Sirius XM’s “Jim and Sam” show with Jim Norton and Sam Roberts last week, Pegg was asked which of the different franchise fan bases between “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and “Dr. Who” have been the most toxic to deal with.
“As someone who was kicked off about the prequels when they came out, the Star Wars fan base seems to be the most toxic at the moment. I’m probably being very controversial to say that,” the actor said.
Pegg alluded to his early days in comedy, in which he frequently ragged on the “Star Wars” prequel films and their Jar Jar Binks character. He’s previously walked back some of those prior criticisms due to the extreme vitriol directed at actor Ahmed Best, who portrayed Jar Jar in the films.
“I’ve apologized for the things I said about Jar Jar Binks. Cause of course there was a f—ing actor involved. He was getting a lot of flack and…it was a human being. And because it got a lot of hate, he suffered, you know, and I feel terrible about being part of that,” Pegg said.
He also explained that when it comes to why “Star Trek” fans seem to be more inclusive, it’s because the show has been diverse since its start in the 1960s. Diversity has been intrinsic to the themes of the show.
“There’s no sort of like, ‘Oh, you’re suddenly being woke.’ No. ‘Star Trek’ was woke from the beginning….This is massively progressive. ‘Star Wars,’ suddenly there’s a little bit more diversity and everyone’s kicking off about it. And it’s really sad,” Pegg said.
See Pegg’s full remarks above.