Simon Pegg is one of the only actors to have been part of the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises, and he's now shared what could prove to be some very controversial thoughts about the differences between the two fandoms.
Before we get to that, there's no denying that we've seen an unflattering side of Star Wars fans since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Almost every diverse actor (both in terms of gender and race) given a leading role has been attacked online and, sadly, there's an awful lot of toxicity to be found, particularly on social media.
In the video below, Pegg is asked about which group of fans are most difficult to please between Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. He responded by saying, "To be honest, and as someone who was kind of, you know, kicked off about the prequels when they came out, the Star Wars fan base really seems to be the most, kind of, toxic at the moment."
"I'm probably going to be very controversial to say that," he added, shortly before "fans" on social media decided to take aim at Pegg for sharing this opinion, accusing him of being "woke" and pushing back against being dubbed "toxic."
The actor made a cameo appearance as Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and played Scotty in the rebooted Star Trek franchise. Addressing that, Pegg drew a stark contrast between the two groups of fans.
"I find that Star Trek fans have always been very, very inclusive. You know, Star Trek's about diversity. It has been since 1966; it always was. There's no sort of, like, 'Oh, you're suddenly being woke now.' Star Trek was woke from the beginning," he explains. "You had a Japanese navigator, just after the Second World War. There was a Black woman on the deck in a position of authority. This is massively progressive."
"Star Wars, suddenly there's a little more diversity, and everyone's kicking off about it, and it's really sad, you know."
Ultimately, Pegg is right about much of what he's saying here and it is disgusting to see how anyone who isn't a white male has been rejected by such a large number of so-called fans (Obi-Wan Kenobi's Reva is a recent example, but characters like Finn, Rey, and Rose Tico all instantly spring to mind). Hopefully, the fanbase can evolve moving forward.
You can hear Pegg's comments in full in the player below: