Simon Pegg SLAMS 'Star Wars' Fans As 'Toxic'

Actor Simon Pegg has appeared in a lot of popular sci-fi franchises, like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who.

As Variety reported, Pegg made a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “Jim and Sam” radio show (via Mediaite). During the interview, Pegg was asked what franchise has “the hardest fans to please.”

He didn't seem to hesitate when he replied, "Star Wars."

During the interview, Simon Pegg didn't hesitate when he said that the Star Wars fanbase seemed to be the most toxic, although he noted that his take will probably be considered "controversial."

“To be honest — and as someone who kind of was, you know, kicked off about the prequels when they came out, the ‘Star Wars’ fanbase really seems to be the most kind of toxic at the moment,” Pegg said. “I’m probably being very controversial to say that.”

The "Shaun of the Dead" star admitted that he was probably once a "toxic" Star Wars fan, as he contributed to the criticism of Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best when "The Phantom Menace" kicked off the prequel trilogy in 1999. In a previous interview, Simon Pegg said that he was "ashamed" that he once contributed to the backlash, especially after Ahmed Best revealed that he once considered taking his own life due to the criticism he received.

“I’ve apologized for the things I said about, you know, Jar Jar Binks,” Pegg said. “Because, of course, there was a fucking 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.”

Many actors and actresses in the Star Wars franchise have been subject to online harassment due to their characters in a galaxy far, far away. Sequel trilogy actors John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran were treated terribly online. Although Tran had been looking forward to her character, Rose Tico, and her big debut in "The Last Jedi," she quickly quit social media due to the backlash her character received.

Most recently, "The Queen's Gambit" star Moses Ingram was the victim of racist backlash for her character of Third Sister/Reva in the Disney+ live-action series "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

In May, the official Star Wars Twitter account tweeted, “We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.”

They added, “There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.”

Star Ewan McGregor, who reprised his role from the prequel series, also added his own statement to defend Ingram. “It just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this has been happening," he said. "We stand with Moses, we love Moses, and if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no ‘Star Wars’ fan in my mind.”

In the interview, Simon Pegg also praised Star Trek, saying that it was "very, very inclusive" and felt that it did a good job at portraying "diversity."

“I find the ‘Star Trek’ fans have always been very, very inclusive, you know, ‘Star Trek’s’ about diversity. It has been since 1966, it always was,” the "Hot Fuzz" actor said.

“There’s no sort of like, ‘Oh, you’re suddenly being woke,’” Pegg added. “No ‘Star Trek’ was woke from the beginning, you know? … This is massively progressive. ‘Star Wars’ suddenly there’s, there’s a little bit more diversity and everyone’s kicking off about it. And it’s, it’s really sad.'”

Simon Pegg had a small role as Unkar Plutt in the first film in the sequel trilogy, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” However, it was hard for a lot of fans to notice him under all of the prosthetics!