06 Jul The Actor Behind Jar Jar Binks Reveals He Considered Suicide After Backlash To The Character

Fandoms have been around for a very long time.

It’s no wonder; we all have something that we consider a passion or obsession even. And when that passion crosses over into popular culture, then bam, you have yourself a fandom.

There’s a whole bunch of them too – sports fandoms, music fandoms, and TV/film fandoms.

In terms of the latter fandom, people tend to get pretty, erm, involved in every aspect of it. And sometimes this entails criticising certain things or outright hating them.

I mean, you could be a really huge fan of a film or TV series but still despise a particular storyline, an ending, or a character.

Characters a major role in determining how good a particular story/show/movie is, and so if they’re hated, then that’s pretty bad news.

But it does happen. Take the whiney Skyler White from Breaking bad as an example, or perhaps the always-annoying Andrea from The Walking Dead. – just because these shows have such dedicated fans, it doesn’t mean there aren’t characters even the most avid watcher despises.

In the Star Wars Universe, it is the character of Jar Jar Binks that many believe played a huge part in the prequel trilogy being so poorly received. When the clumsy Gungan was first introduced to audiences, he was quickly branded one of the most hated characters in cinematic history.

Here’s Benedict Cumberbatch’s opinion on the character (and a sneaky impression too!)

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If you’re a big enough fan of Star Wars, you might know Ahmed Best as the actor behind the character. Jar Jar Binks made his first appearance in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace all the way back in 1999 – 16 years after the beloved original trilogy came to an end.

The primary role of the character, a Gungan from the planet of Naboo, was to provide comic relief for the audience. And, in fact, the late Michael Jackson was originally considered for the role, but while the singer wanted to play the character using prosthetics, Lucas wanted it to be entirely CGI. So eventually, Ahmed Best was hired for the infamous role.

Best, who was 25 at the time, provided the voice and motion capture for the CGI alien. It was his first major film role and a role he’d never forget; unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

The very passionate Star Wars fandom took an instant dislike to the computer-generated character. In fact, to this day, he is still being slated by both fans and critics. Moviegoers were baffled by his bizarre accent and Best’s “dumbed down” portrayal of him.

Last year, in a candid interview with Wired, Best spoke about how vicious the fans’ reaction was. “I had death threats through the internet,” he said. “I had people come to me and say, ‘You destroyed my childhood.’ That’s difficult for a 25-year-old to hear.”

Now, you may have already been aware of the backlash surrounding the character, but what you probably didn’t know is that Best seriously considered ending his life because of it.

Best has revealed this heartbreaking fact on Twitter for the first time since his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks.

He shared a photo of him and his son on a bridge, writing:

“20 years next year I faced a media backlash that still affects my career today. This was the place I almost ended my life. It’s still hard to talk about. I survived and now this little guy is my gift for survival. Would this be a good story for my solo show? Lemme know.”

Naturally, after Best’s upsetting experience was made public, Twitter users rushed to tweet messages of love and support.

Many of these people also work in the film industry, including Anthony Sparks, the co-executive producer of Queen Sugar.

He replied to Best’s candid post, calling the actor his “brother from another mother. He’s stepping boldly into his truth and it’s one that many need to hear. Proud of my man. Much love!”

Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda, also voiced his support for the actor and revealed that he actually “LOVED” the character.

And his complimentary tweet didn’t go unnoticed by Best himself:

Rian Johnson, who has also endured outrage from the fandom as director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, made sure to show his solidarity:

Yesterday, Best thanked the supporters and well-wishers for their “love and kindness” and even revealed his plans to start writing a show about the experience.

The creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, has always (and still does to this day) defended Jar Jar Binks who he based on the Disney cartoon character Goofy.

In a 1999 BBC interview, he denied any suggestions that the character was developed as a result of racial stereotyping.

“How in the world could you take an orange amphibian and say that he’s a Jamaican?” he said. “It’s completely absurd. Believe me, Jar Jar was not drawn from a Jamaican, from any stretch of the imagination.”

“There is a group of fans for the films that doesn’t like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough like Terminator, and they get very upset and opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike.”

Take a look at Carrie Fisher’s early Star Wars audition with Harrison Ford:

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And fandom-fuelled hatred is still ongoing in the world of Star Wars.

In fact, Kelly Marie Tran, one of the most recent additions to the franchise, has deleted her Instagram photos due to the persistent harassment she endured for playing Rose Tico in The Last Jedi.

John Boyega, who plays Finn in The Last Jedi, made sure to show his solidarity with his co-star on Twitter.

Addressing fans of the franchise, he wrote:

“If you don’t like Star Wars or the characters understand that there are decision makers and harassing the actors/actresses will do nothing. You’re not entitled to politeness when your approach is rude. Even if you paid for a ticket!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

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