Kelly Marie Tran shattered a major barrier by becoming the first Asian-American woman to land a leading role in the Star Wars saga — yet a vocal group of bigoted internet trolls refuses to celebrate the milestone. Tran, who portrays mechanic Rose Tico in The Last Jedi, found her entry on "Wookieepedia," a fan-maintained Star Wars wiki, vandalized with hateful slurs, Newsweek reports.
The malicious edits swapped her name for "Ching Chong Wing Tong" and rebranded her character's homeworld as "Ching Chong China." (Tran is of Vietnamese-American heritage.) Trolls also inserted a fabricated Rose quote and a phony biography onto the page.
Brian Young on Twitter, @swankmotron
The defaced content has since been scrubbed, and the offending editor's IP address has been barred from Wookieepedia and every other FANDOM wiki.
While this venomous harassment is disheartening, much of the Star Wars fanbase has rallied around Tran and her standout role. The actress herself has publicly shared her enthusiasm for playing Rose.
Speaking with USA Today, Tran explained: "We always hear these stories about people who are born into a specific position, like you're the chosen one or you have a power or you are a hotshot. Rose represents this person who's in the background. It's really cool to see someone [like that] be forced into the forefront of the action and how she deals with it."
Catch her Instagram for updates on this pioneering journey: @kellymarietran.
We've got your back, Kelly!
Photo credit: Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
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Anna Wesche serves as a BUST intern, writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed devotee of Doritos (Nacho Cheese). Catch her on Instagram at @annamargery to watch her gradual evolution into a feline.
