'Rally for Rose' at Comic-Con answers Rose Tico haters

TWITTER / NERDS OF COLOR

ACTRESS KELLY MARIE TRAN and Rose Tico, the character she plays in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, have come under fire from white males posing as fans of the Star Wars blockbuster franchise.

Tran - and by extension, Rose Tico - have come to symbolize everything that is wrong about the push for diversity by what haters say are "social justice warriors."

Last weekend, fans of Rose rallied for their hero at the 2018 Comic-Con held in San Diego. The "Rally for Rose," was organized by the website Nerds of Color and attracted a number cosplayers dressed as Rose as well as others wearing t-shirts emblazoned with a portrait of Rose.

Rose, as played by Tran, is the first woman of color to play a significant role in the Star Wars movies. As a result, Tran was targeted on Instagram by white fanboys making fun of her appearance her weight and just for being in the same universe as Luke Skywalker, one of the original main characters in the first Star Wars.

The fanboys - a small but vocal portion of the franchise's fan base -- apparently saw Star Wars as one of their refuges from reality. So when Disney began including female leads and characters of color in the last three stories -- The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi -- they hit back the only way they knew, through social media, hiding behind the Internet's anonymity.

The latest movie in the franchise, Solo, saw the return of the white, male hero, but still managed to have strong female leads played by Westworld's Thandie Newton and Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke. 

The fanboys immature campaign aimed at Tran apparently caused the actress to drop her Instagram account, much to the consternation of director Rian Johnson and star Mark Hamill, both of whom enjoyed the idea of the rally.

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