The actor who played Jar Jar Binks says the backlash almost drove him to suicide

By Alex McLevy | July 5, 2018 | 4:41pm

Aux Features Ahmed Best

Ahmed Best, the actor who portrayed the much-despised Jar Jar Binks in the also-despised Star Wars prequels, has been fairly open and self-deprecating about his experience with the franchise. As recently as last year, he was giving good-natured interviews about how he dealt with the abuse he received, and saying he took the anger “a little bit” personally. At times, it sounded a little rough: “I had people come to me and say, ‘You destroyed my childhood.’ That’s difficult for a 25-year-old to hear,” he said.

But in a new tweet, the man who received untold amounts of online vitriol and vituperative personal attacks from very well-adjusted and cool Star Wars fans admits that the experience was far more upsetting and emotionally damaging than he has let on in the past. In a caption accompanying a picture of Best with his son, the actor says, “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.”