JJ Abrams says Star Wars internet trolls are "threatened" by women
The Force Awakens director hit out at internet commenters who complained about women taking more prominent roles in the films
Star Wars director JJ Abrams has hit out at internet commenters who have complained about women taking more prominent roles in the franchise.
Abrams, who brought us Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and will soon return to direct Episode IX, said he could see why some people might feel "freaked out" but argued that the only people who had a real problem with female characters were those who felt "threatened" by them.
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“We’re not asking to take away the male point of view or male artistry or male contribution,” he told IndieWire. “We’re simply saying, ‘What is fair?’ I can see why people might get freaked out by it, but the people who are getting freaked out are the people who are accustomed to that privilege, and this is not oppression, this is about fairness.”
"Star Wars is a big galaxy, and you can sort of find almost anything you want to in Star Wars. If you are someone who feels threatened by women and needs to lash out against them, you can probably find an enemy in Star Wars", Abrams continued.
"You can probably look at the first movie that George [Lucas] did [Star Wars: A New Hope] and say that Leia was too outspoken, or she was too tough. Anyone who wants to find a problem with anything can find the problem. The internet seems to be made for that", he said.
Abrams also promised that fans' complaints won't have any impact on his vision for Episode IX. “There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the ‘Episode IX’ conversation … I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren — and if you look, there are three men and one woman, to those that are complaining that there are too many women in ‘Star Wars’ — their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see.”
