When Star Wars fans TURN on the actor. The Jake Lloyd story.

[@michaelmann6510]

No one hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans.

[@-.-.11]

Because they’re the ones who know how great it can be. This quote never made any sense.

[@moozipan]

@@-.-.11 Maybe you understand the quote better when you put "fans" in quotation marks. Because it really is just cultish behaviour from immature man children that causes all this toxic nonsense. Fandom doesn't mean to put your own selfish expectations and ideas above everything else, and those "fans" depicted in the video clearly have more hate to share than love for the franchise.

[@perfectallycromulent]

@@moozipan It's not cultist behavior to have opinions about the quality of a film and the performances contained in it, nor is it cultish to compare one film to other films and say "this new one sucks compared to the first three"

[@moozipan]

@@perfectallycromulent No, but it's cultish behavior to mass harass a child over potentially spoiling your fantasy movie. Which was the topic of this entire video.

[@theafricanrhino]

@@moozipanyou understand female fans are just as verbal… they’re just less willing to die on a sword over it.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

No matter how much I hate a movie, I NEVER hate the actors in them, they can only do so much with what they're given! ❤

[@trinaq]

Poor Jake Lloyd, I felt so sorry for him getting bullied by his classmates, cultimating in him not enjoying acting anymore.

[@Kloxbyn]

I hope this episode gets noticed. Jake deserved better.

[@MichaelEdwardsVA]

This was a phenomenal video dude, possibly one of your best. This is easily the most well handled video I've seen on Jake/the negative fandom response to the Phantom Menace.

[@UnseenJapan]

Great work as always, Brandon. Really appreciate how you bring in your own experience in the industry - it helps set apart your work from commentators who lack that lived connection!

[@jnaught1358]

I befriended Jake years ago. He was a great innocent kid, and became a damn cool young man. Incredibly intelligent, funny and empathetic. I’ve seen first hand the foolishness of “interviewers”, and have shit down a couple myself to the point of wanting to knock them out for the attempt at setting him up (in public) for harsh, and cruel questions. I’m happy he’s doing better. I’m a SW fan, I have my opinions about the writing and direction.. But I don’t fault the actors for doing what they are told to do by producers, directors and bean counters.. Each position’s title is a literal. Producers choose the writers to produce the scripts, they then, hire the directors to bring the script to life by directing the actors.. The actors literally do what they’re told, get their check, and go audition for the next “ok what do you want me to do” job. What we see on screen is literally the producer and director’s “final” vision. Jake was a child, and he did a damn good job of following George’s direction (To the letter)…. How is it that (he) suffered? That question can only be answered by fan folk taking stock in (their) arrogance.

[@takinskins4864]

thank you for this, I hope It can reach out to people to think carefully about what and how they say things in regards to criticism it really can impact and inject trauma into people's lives as evidenced here. Sadly after 25 years some of the "fandom" still can't get it right and not able to see the consequences

[@maybeitsneato]

I was Natalie Portman's age when Episode 1 came out. My friends and I had really become fans when the 90s theatrical remasters came out. When Episode 1 came out we just weren't sure about it. Where were they going? Why was Anakin so young? What was the deal with Jar Jar? So we were a bit negative, but never towards the actors. By the time I saw episode 3 and saw it all worked out well enough I began to embrace episode 1. Even Jar Jar, ironically at first, then he grew on me and I came to appreciate the character. It's weird that when it comes to Star Wars many of us got less grumpy with age.

[@GEMINIEARTHWALKER]

Great video, one of your best, and I've been a fan since No Small Parts

[@Archbell_End]

George Lucas didn't make the prequels purely for the fans that grew up with the originals, he made the prequels for a new generation that would benefit from the lessons that Star Wars teaches and the creativity it inspires. It's unfortunate that the older fans failed to grasp that concept, I've never encountered anyone who grew up with the prequels that had anything but love for them. I didn't enjoy the sequels in the slightest but I don't put energy into hating them because I know they weren't made for me, they were made to inspire a new generation and only in 15 - 20 years will that generation be able to show us whether the sequels succeeded in that so until then I'll hold my tongue. Great stuff as always, all the time and effort you put into these videos is greatly appreciated.

[@NelsonStJames]

George Lucas also did not make the original films, on his own. If you read the original script for Star Wars it doesn't read anything like the finished film we got. A fact that people forget is that George Lucas didn't even direct the second and third films of the first trilogy. It's not a matter of the films not being "made for a particular audience" it's that they were unpolished and needed work in order to express the ideas the George wanted to express, and that he either didn't have, or didn't think he needed the help he had the first go round.

[@JBTriple8]

we failed ,Ahmed Best John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Moses Ingram, Kelly Marie Tran and Amandla Stenberg as well

[@Jared_Wignall]

I never understood the hate Jake Lloyd got. I mean, it’s one thing if one isn’t fond of the film or his performance, but to go on and on about how he’s terrible and what not, it’s ridiculous. I was 5 when I saw Phantom Menace in theaters and I loved the film as well as the other prequels when I saw them. I grew up with the Original Trilogy on VHS and then got them on DVD later on as well as the Prequels and have the six of them with the Complete Saga Blu-Ray set and I’ve always enjoyed rewatching the films. Jake played a kid version of Anakin and did a good job. It’s one thing to criticize a particular performance, but to go out and bash a kid for basically playing a kid is absurd, but then again so many people are absurd. Thank you for the video Brandon, I hope you’re doing well. Keep up the great work and take care!

[@godstomper]

Star wars has the most toxic fan base.

[@jingalls9142]

I don't know...all of big bad Donald's fans seem beyond toxic. At least star wars isn't going to start a civil/nuclear war....or I hope not. Lol it won't surprise me at this point.

[@NelsonStJames]

Brother you have not been around. Fandom in general is in the worse state it's ever been in, and that goes from music fans to anything you can think of.

[@godstomper]

@NelsonStJames I don't see star trek fans as toxic

[@alcook8339]

Right, and then claiming their childhood was ruined!

[@dudebrian]

Great video, im not a star wars fan so this is an outsiders perspective but you brought it up at the end, its so sad to see the cycle continue of toxic fandom

[@paulwills1309]

Excellent video - really informative. Absolutely horrible though to think what this poor kid went through. Nobody should be subjected to this level of hate, especially when they're simply involved in making a piece of entertainment, and the fact that he was so young made it even worse. Well done Ron Howard for speaking out as he did.

[@deanolium]

Let’s not get it wrong, Jake’s acting in this was pretty rough and there’s always going to be backlash when that happens. But as mentioned in this video, he really wasn’t given much support to do a better job: clunky dialogue, George is renowned for relying on the actors to direct their emotions in their performances themselves, no acting coach on set, difficult CGI conditions at a time when people weren’t trained in acting in that environment. He did poorly and it’s heart breaking that he could’ve done better with more support. However putting the amount of blame onto him for the film not hitting the hype is just monstrous. That people think it’s funny, even now, to rag on him is just wrong. It’s just media in the end. An acting job. He didn’t steal anyone’s childhood or killed your dog. He’s a kid who gave a rough performance in a film. That’s it

[@pablocasas5906]

I never understood why so many people said the acting in the prequels felt awkward and clunky, but then I realized it was because I grew up watching the Neutral Spanish dubs, and while this may sound weird to some, I think the SW Prequels is one of the rare instances in which a dub version sounds better, perhaps because the voice director had more experience at directing dialogue. For instance, in already mentioned this in another comment, but Jake Lloyd was dubbed by a child voice actor and I think he did a better job, probably because he and the rest of the dub cast had, and it's kind of interesting that Jake's dub actor, Héctor Emmanuel Gómez, later went on to direct the dubs for many Star Wars projects like the Clone Wars cartoon, the Disney Era movies, various LEGO specials and some video games, he even dubbed Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo in the 2019 movie.

[@hiswordremains]

He was also a child. That alone is sufficient to give him a pass.

[@Interstellar-in5wb]

This was an excellent essay on Jake Lloyd, and quite probably will be the definitive treatise on his journey and his treatment.

[@aherowon003]

Thanks for posting this. As a kid I enjoyed the film but now as an adult, my opinion has changed but much of this was because of the writing. It’s not the actors and the hate pushed on them is unfair. I hope Jake is doing better now.

[@tomprevendoski2846]

This episode is very special. I admit that I was one of those jerks that attacked actors for playing roles in bad movies. I'm sure that I had more than one unkind thing to say about Jake Lloyd. At that time, the griping felt necessary. Like getting a bad meal in a restaurant, something does need to be said to (hopefully) prevent the same from happening a second time. But this episode got me thinking of just how these remarks affect people and just how far they should carry on. Thanks.

[@Zoroff74]

A big thanks to you, for taking the huge step towards good that self-reflection is when it's used for constructive improvement. 💛

[@NiGiff]

Great video! Side note: I think it's awesome that Brandon & Kenny are still collaborating together. Been a fan since I saw the Patrolman in 2006. (The second one, although I do find the first one with Dominic Nolin to be quite hilarious.)

[@TheBackFocus]

Kenny made a whole show with Dominic that he put on public access. Must have been 2004 or something. So odd and funny.

[@NiGiff]

@@TheBackFocus I watched that too! I was a big fan! Even exchanged a few emails with Kenny back in the day over mutual love of pro wrestling.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

We just lost Gena Rowlands, that scene was unexpected; I'm surprised it brought me to tears.

[@NelsonStJames]

In 2024 after the DCEU, after Bond, after the Hobbit, and countless other disappointments, I think if it's one thing the audience understands now better than ever, it's that a bad movie is generally not the fault of an actor. Even when that actor is miscast, there is a director and others that should have realized it long before that movie completed filming. The problem we see today is a toxic element being stirred up by a bunch of bad actors and grifters on the internet, and equally bad actors outside the fandom that use them as an example for their own ends. The result is that being a fan of anything today is simply not any fun anymore.

[@Supyloco]

Proving that this is not a new thing that happened after Disney. I always hated and resented these people who created and encouraged this environment. The worst part? it could've been worse. Imagine how amplified it would have been if social media was a thing. What happened then was so disproportionate, so imagine that happening on the current infrastructure.

[@derekbrou]

I feel so relieved he made it long enough to see most people realize how wrong they were about him and how insane it is to treat a child like that. The damage can't be undone but it feels like he's been vindicated, or at least I hope he feels that way. I will also say this, I think not only is it not a child's fault if a director can't get a good performance out of them, it's almost never ANY actors fault that a performance people respond negatively to makes it into the final cut, unless they're a producer or they're also directing. Some people probably disagree with taking it that far, and I'm not saying there aren't bad performances, but the buck stops with the director. If they are there during the entire production, the casting process, screen testing, rehearsal, shooting, AND editing, and through ALL OF THAT they can't manage to shape an appropriate performance out of all the time put in and material gathered, then frankly that is entirely on them. George just straight up was like na no acting coach for you. That is ridiculous. His enormous wealth disconnected him from reality and I feel like he really did Jake dirty, he was supposed to be watching out for this kid and he let him get completely bulldozed. Legitimately, shame on you George Lucas.

[@SamRiesgo]

DUDE!! I was watching it and the it went down!! What a video! Thanks for this.

[@TheBackFocus]

Apologies for that, we had to fix something with it and reupload.

[@jovensworld2037]

When I first watched the Phantom Menace, I think Jake Lioyd did a good job, it really shows who Anakin was before turning into Darth Vader, it’s such a shame now that Jake was receiving a huge amount of backlash for almost 2 decades because of that movie.

[@robdielemans9189]

I didn't like his acting in the prequel but probably guessed it was either casting, directing, editing that was causing it, never thought about putting the blame on a kid.

[@alcook8339]

I loved loved Star Wars until I didn’t. Then I stopped watching the new stuff, stuck with the old. It’s that simple, don’t like it, don’t watch it. And don’t destroy people by being hateful and cruel. Don’t pick on kids, don’t racially vilify people and don’t be sexist, over a movie. This was a great video, thank you ☺️

[@Amberlynn_Reid]

Excellent video. It has that special something that some of your videos have. Like that Gilbert grape video. Something that just sticks with you

[@BloodylocksBathory]

You make a good point about Devon's line reading of, "I won't always be." It suggests he's already had a rough life and desperately wants to leave all that sand, but knowing who Anakin will grow up to be, it reads like 'well this kid is already evil'. I always felt bad for the actors of Star Wars who got raked through the mud by fans. George Lucas isn't exactly a master of direction, and you can tell by the performances. Sure, I thought Jake Lloyd's performance was lousy, but as you mentioned, in previous roles he did very well for his age.

[@gvx64]

It's unfortunate that Jake got any blame for Episode I. If blame is to be given it should be with the directing, the plot and the script writing, but honestly I think at the end of the day a lot of blame is also with fans and just how out of control we let our expectations get for Episode I back in the 90s. This video's portrayal is totally correct about how crazy the hype was for this movie. We were all expecting a repeat of 1977 where what is possibly the greatest science fiction story ever made was combined with breath-taking visual effects that were a decade or more ahead of its time and then just laid at our feet. Nothing can live up to that. Fans should have been wise enough to have remembered the signs we clearly saw in RotJ in 1983 that the brilliance of the first two movies was starting to fade. At best we should have have had tempered expectations and been looking for something that was a bit weaker than Episode VI. What we got was maybe a bit weaker even then that, but people at least wouldn't have been devastated like they were if these had been our expectations going in. It would have then also been the case that the mass outrage wouldn't have had to spill over onto actors that clearly had very little freedom to change anything about Lucas' vision for the movie.

[@oasntet]

Good child actors are extremely rare and generally have extremely good acting coaches to help translate what the directors are asking for. If a child actor does poorly, there's a lot of people to take the blame apart from the actor. But the biggest blame probably belongs to the writer(s) for requesting a 8-year-old for a role that absolutely does not need to be a 8-year-old. They could have cast a 13-year-old in the role and everything about it would have worked fine. Remember, 8 years old was _already_ too old according to Jedi Academy rules, an extra five years makes no difference. And it might have paralleled Luke's story a bit better, a thing the later trilogy did okay (if maybe over-did and then utterly screwed up the landing...) The current generation of actor hate is really just about racism, like hanging the failure of The Acolyte on "DEI" as if an all-white cast could have made that story work. That's all the "anti-woke mind virus" is, straight-up racism by another name.

[@MammaApa]

I got so confused for a second as soon as Brandon started talking, I thought I had clicked a Be Kind Rewind-video.

[@bsimms3686]

I hope this goes viral.

[@noahmalonson7347]

seriously fantastic video. well done

[@lucy-annedawson4849]

I went along to see Episode 1 with my Star Wars fanatic sister. She was so excited that she was bouncing on her cinema chair as the text crawl moved across the screen. We walked out silently. But even so, I can’t imagine being so upset that I kick the enthusiasm out of a child. Or target any of the cast of a daft movie so badly that it breaks them.

[@elysiabarr425]

I feel bad for Jake Lloyd. He and other Star Wars actors didn’t deserve hate. Fans of any one or thing can take things too far. I’ve had to step away or take a break from certain fandoms because if I say if something doesn’t look that bad or I say it’s okay, the fandom expects me to loathe it with a passion or love it so much that it’s a part of my personality.

[@scapevelocity]

My compliments on this video. I hated Episode 1, hated Episode 2 just as much, and only went to see Episode 3 to snark about it with friends. But that wasn't about the actors, so many of whom have done better work in other roles. My big complaints were with the clunky dialogue, the excessive CGI that have me eyestrain and headaches when I couldn't find something to focus on, the interminable pod racing scenes that were better on my Nintendo 64. Jake Lloyd's performance didn't work for me, but that felt like a combination of miscasting and a lack of direction. Looking back at the original Star Wars, I eventually realized the performances were pretty bad. By The Empire Strikes Back they had improved so much, which I attributed to more experience on the part of the cast and a director who actually knew how to work with actors. Jake Lloyd got a raw deal, one no child should have had to experience.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

14:40 I often wonder about these quotes about the dialogue in the original trilogy; I wonder how much of that experience went into Carrie Fisher's eventual turn to script doctoring as well as her obviously innate writing talents. May Carrie + her mother be peacefully journeying.

[@TC-tl8ie]

We've vindicated Hayden Christensen, now let's do the same for Jake Lloyd. In a future Star Wars series I want to see them put him in the Darth Vader costume.

[@NelsonStJames]

The only thing that could vindicate Lloyd at this point would be a complete rewrite of the sequel trilogy. Lloyd's best roadmap to bringing the fanbase to his side is what Will Wheaton did, which was to basically own up to the fact the work he was in was flawed. But Wheaton has always been an actual nerd, and fans realized that, so he wasn't really acting when you saw him at conventions and in interviews after his character was booted from the series. I don't know if Lloyd was a fan of SW before taking the role ( probably not given his age ) and he's certainly had no reason to love the franchise since so. . .

[@raymond_sycamore]

I was also 12 when this came out, god damn favorite movie or all time, for years. Honestly I watch it now and still get chills. I love that movie. I don't care what anybody says. I love it. The late 90s was the absolute peak of filmmaking. CGI was finally coming into its own, and as kids everything seemed so REAL! We had DINOSAURS, SPACE BATTLES, TIME TRAVEL, everything you could imagine was happing on the screen! One of my other all time favorite 90s films was Lost in Space. I was very surprised and very sorry to see what happened the Jake. It must be awful to be blamed for the downfall of a franchise.

[@Zoroff74]

I was twice your age but enjoyed it as a good, fun action adventure movie. It was different from the old ones, but it should be, the thing was made three decades later and was three movies removed storywise. I think that people just had too detailed expectations about something they hadn't even defined for themselves.

[@coletakahashi-s9d]

As long as you’re not toxic about it.

[@Mechjoc]

It's one of those things I'd brought up with people when we discuss Star Wars. The worst part is The Fans. I get the they love the series, but man, they take it way too seriously.

[@pablocasas5906]

Man, Jake Lloyd's story is very tragic, I mean, why bully a child actor Though Interestingly, Lloyd was dubbed by a child in the Latin American Spanish dub, Héctor Emmanuel Gómez, who unlike Jake kept working to this day and in fact when he became an adult he became in charge of the Star Wars dubs into Spanish and he even dubbed the character of Han Solo in the 2019 movie

[@TheBackFocus]

Whoa interesting!

[@pablocasas5906]

@@TheBackFocus yeah, plenty of voice actors in the Mexican dubbing industry have started their careers as children, I think Héctor began working when he was 8 years old, he dubbed Jake as Anakin when he was 12. The same year Phantom Menace was released he also voiced child Tarzan in Disney's Tarzan and Hogarth Hughes in The Iron Giant, he also dubbed other child actors from that era like Haley Joel Osment in Pay it Forward and Artificial Intelligence, and Frankie Muniz in Miracle in Lane 2 and Agent Cody Banks. Growing up, Héctor landed some roles like Rikochet in ¡Mucha Lucha!, Itachi Uchiha in Naruto and Mumble in Happy Feet, he's also the most recurring dub voice for actors such as Zac Efron and Jesse Eisenberg, and has dubbed others like Dominic Cooper, Jesse Plemons and Rami Malek. In regards to Star Wars, he became the voice director for the Clone Wars cartoon, and since then he directed the dubs for all of Disney's Star Wars movies, shows like Rebels and Resistance, and games Battlefront, he also voiced other Star Wars character like the Droid Warriors since Clone Wars and even voiced Luke in Battlefront.

[@artofdrinking]

I think a combination of Jake Lloyd and Devon Michaels auditions would be a perfect version of the line "I won't always be."

[@jjmarcos]

I hate the Devon Michaels, he delivers his lines like he's the young kid in a horror movie. ominous emotionless delivery.

[@UnseenJapan]

@@jjmarcos Weird saying you "hate" a child actor in a video about not expressing hate towards child actors.

[@timrob12]

Well said, Branden. People nowadays just don't know the consequences of their actions.

[@karenshoffner203]

Or maybe some of them don't care. idk

[@timrob12]

@@karenshoffner203 True, though they should.

[@2MuchAction4U]

Beautiful video about a very unfortunate story

[@shevek9505]

One of the best pieces on the hatred and on Star Wars as a series, and as a documentation. Absolut great pace and giving the different angles. I didn't - and still don't - like the prequels but all because of Lucas choices at the time, starting with the story ark and the CGI which wasn't up to the task, or it was ment as a mere crossover to the games or the animation series. But that is art, right? So I stay with the originals and yes I dare to say also vii to ix, which had great moments imo.

[@patgarner]

It's not fair that Jake Lloyd was treated so poorly and that it all has had such an enduringly negative effect on his life. And this video is well made and your heart is in the right place.

[@StudentofB]

Might want to only capitalize the "TURN" in the title. With on in capitals it looks like the fans are turning on Jake Lloyd as opposed to turning on him. Otherwise, great work as always.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

30+ years of experience in production here (acting, directing, writing, fight choreography, sound design, video editing, V.O., etc.). It's embarrassing how the public treats actors who are NOT the producers, NOT the writers, NOT the editors, not the directors, etc. Beyond that, what do you expect from *children*? You never know if they're like Portman, Caulkin, Furlong, or even Barrymore (remember "Poltergeist"?). Each child differs, and it's unfair to expect too much too soon from 'em. They're only human, too. 😕 And... yeah... AS IF ANY CRITIC COULD ACT OR PERFORM BETTER THAN THEM. 🙄

[@theblankyblankness]

Liked for the spaced clip.

[@HieMan-g1n]

Disney is using this as part of their marketing strategy. It doesn't matter if the hateful essages are true or not or how many of them are, this is an antagonistic tactic which the studios sometimes do if the fandom is divided. It doesn't happen if the franchise is in a good shape.

[@Andinov02]

Wow. Incredible video. I'd no idea

[@culwin]

Maybe part of the problem is also the flipside of the coin, which is celebrity worship. You might say it isn't worship, it's just "fandom", but that's just splitting hairs. It's getting too attached. Just because an actor portrays a popular character - so what? Maybe they did a great job acting but again - so what? I know this entire channel's point is to showcase actors, but there's way too much fascination with celebrity - and now "celebrity" means people on KZbin and Twitch and Instagram and whatever else. While we shouldn't hate Jake Lloyd, maybe we also shouldn't idolize Harrison Ford or some guy who plays Fortnite. I mean, I'm a "fan" so to speak of Brandon here, he's a funny dude, but I don't know him and wouldn't get attached to him more than that. But some people probably might.

[@TheBackFocus]

You can worship me, it’s cool

[@katsmith8263]

I had no idea about all of this

[@coolshah1662]

What happened to this guy is sickening. I wish that the people who pushed him here faced the karma. It breaks my heart that they ruined a child's life, now a young man, over a fucking series aimed at kids. SW fandom is just a cabal of sociopaths.

[@briankaler6147]

Criticism is fine, nothing wrong with it. Harassment is where it ends being acceptable.

[@leejones8582]

Poor Jake if you don't like the character fine don't take it out of him

[@perfectallycromulent]

The hate comes from the conflict between the performance and the character, both of which are annoying. The kid doesn't do a great job because it's a difficult role and he's getting no help from the adults who should be helping him. But the character he plays is a smug little jerk who goes around succeeding at all these ridiculous tasks. People don't like it when children seem smarter than them. Making the character do things he should never be able to do, like build C3P0 just ensured the hate would flow from the audience being asked to accept this nonsense.

[@PonyStark69]

Really feel for the poor lad bless him, the star wars community had tunt so toxic

[@GovnaBuckingham]

The anti cheese editions of the prequals makes them a lot more watchable

[@rolfathan]

I've never understood star wars fans that have hated it for years and talk about it more than anything else. I've liked a lot of Star Wars. But a series I did lose some interest in, I hated Star Trek Enterprise. Do you wanna know what I said about it? What I posted on forums? What I learned about the production process, inner workings, and cast? NOTHING. I just tuned out. I watched a few episodes, didn't like it, and then just stopped watching. Star Wars fans seem to hate the franchise, and then proceed to do more research about why they don't like new content than most people that like and enjoy it do. Like, why??? I invest my time in franchises I like. Granted, I've gotten back into Star Trek a bit, and I can see WHY people liked Enterprise, and I don't fault them for loving it. The other thing that baffles me. This weird idea that people aren't allowed to enjoy things and must be convinced that they must agree with this segment of fans that hate everything. And the idea that actors, people that didn't write any of these stories, they were just doing their job, would be attacked just proves to me how many people out there have actual mental health problems. I don't blame any actors, or even writers for a show or movie. I honestly think most of the time they are just following trends at the time. And if it worked, if it found and audience that isn't me, that's not wrong. We can't gatekeep storytelling. That's the effort of a crazy person.

[@Tomshelton25]

We gotta get him back. We welcomed Christian back easy enough. We all owe him an apology. Speaking for myself.

[@Tinkerbe11]

I was in my 30s when The Phantom Menace came out and I loved it! I still do. I thought Jake was cute and JarJar was funny. When my friend and I came out of the theatre, we were talking like JarJar and had a laugh. And all my friends who like Star Wars also love this movie, and none of us has a problem with any characters or dialogue. Maybe because we saw the movie in German and the German dubbing softened it, but I have since watched the movie in English and I still love it. I think the haters are a small but loud minority. I think more people who watched this movie loved it than hated it.

[@CamMcGinn1981]

5:23 - Why does it sound like you're motorboating Jabba the Hut? ROFL

[@beavinator]

Fans can be so freaking stupid (and cruel). If you really feel such a burning need to hurl vitriol over a movie you didn't like, at least direct it toward the people who are actually responsible for it: writers, directors, producers, studio executives, etc, not the child actor they hired. What was he gonna say, "No, I don't want to be in Star Wars", at age 8?? Come on Star Wars fans, we can do SO much better than this. There's plenty to dislike about The Phantom Menace, and Jake Lloyd the real human being had nothing to do with any of it.

[@bluethieves]

This is such a nice, thoughtful video that raises some great points. Thank you, Brandon and Kenny, for making this! Here's hoping that Jake Lloyd is doing as well as he can these days.

[@katsmith8263]

He was perfect for star wars

[@stuffhobbes6187]

Bullying should never be okay. It's amazing how much has changed in the near quarter of a century since TPM's release. Now we live in a world where the actors/writers/producers attack the fans, using media outlets owned by the same company that owns the billion-dollar franchise that fans WANT to like...

[@jonisilk]

Thank you..... I always thought Devon's test was better and he had more range for a kid than Jake did at that time.

[@JuberLOL]

I was 11 when TPM came out and didn't like it. The hype was very real but I already had a love for the original movies. As an 11 year old sure I blamed the faces I saw on screen for everything that was wrong with it, as an adult I recognize that a movie is a collaboration with hundreds of people and you can't blame 1 or 2 actors for the whole project being a stinker, and also it's just a movie like let's all relax.

[@JimmyDThing]

Fantastic video and I realize what I'm about to say isn't the point at all. But I think the response to what's been done with Star Wars is best directed at the studio. Disney owns both Star Wars and Marvel. Both took a fairly political turn and both got a lot of negative feedback. Marvel has realized the misstep and is making moves away from it. Star Wars just keeps doubling down over and over again. It almost seems like the people running Star Wars are relying on severe hate for advertising and relevance.

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

It wasn't Jake Lloyd's fault George Lucas is a terribly hamfisted dialogue writer, judge of plausible acting, and unwilling to direct subtle nuanced performances, with no confidence in moments of silence to evoke character introspection over clunky unnecessary exposition. But clearly his groomer... I mean "acting coach" has a long storied history of molding exhibitions of absolute cringe out of his unwitting protegé. Doubtful that vigilant poise and stalwart resilience were on his circulum calendar either, as a exploited child cash cow obliviously on an inevitable trajectory toward premature obsoletion.

[@0dWHOHWb0]

Oof, I had no idea this all happened

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Kelly Marie Tran didn't deserve it either.

[@nathanwiles2719]

This is a great video, but I don't love that takes two very different things; the reprehensible backlash towards Jake Lloyd, and the very warranted backlash towards the film in general, and treats them as the same thing.

[@moozipan]

@nathanwiles2719 This video clearly focusses on the harassment of the actors and not much else. If you came here looking to discuss the quality of the films, you kinda missed the whole point.

[@raymanpixar5699]

21:45 *Slap* Keep The CG Characters Out Yo Freaking Mouth!

[@13donstalos]

When a movie franchise becomes the end-all, be-all for fans, I get them being angry when the sequel feels like it wasn't given the same perfectionist treatment. That being said: 1. You don't have to destroy an actor in order to express displeasure with their role. You can be respectful. 2. I bet Lucas worked the same way with the first 3 as the last 3. He couldn't control the fact that the first 3 transformed into something magical. That just happens sometimes with certain movies or music. And people were disappointed that the magic wasn't there the second time through.

[@SALVATl0N]

The casting director failed all of us

[@reelfishstories]

I’ve always liked Jake Lloyd’s work. George’s direction had everything to do with the result of the prequels. There are only 3 Star Wars films, the rest are fan films.

[@mr_nobody_000]

great video, a powerful message.

[@johnstevens5517]

Is it also possible that people stopped liking star wars because every one of the projects since the prequels were terrible? Does it have to be vague internet people poisoning the weak minds of fans who really love Star wars? Is it possible that storytelling for Disney has become pandering, boring, and poorly executed?

[@TheBackFocus]

It’s not only possible. I think your last point is correct. Two things can be true at the same time. 1. New Star Wars can be pandering, boring, and poorly executed. 2. That’s no excuse to be an asshole to the actors involved.

[@johnstevens5517]

@@TheBackFocus I don't agree with the racism, that's just a dumb reason to not like someone. Either an actor gives a good performance or they don't...and even that can depend on things like script and direction. I don't have a problem with people being "assholes" by saying what they think though and I hope people will always be able to do so freely. I love your channel, thank you for taking the time to respond

[@williamshaw9047]

It's so lame how every video or movie has to give us this candyass warning about suicide and self-harm, like we're going to watch a video like this and think "Maybe I should self harm too!" It's condescending, especially to mentally ill people. At least there wasn't some "language warning" like we can't hear certain racial slurs without taking them out of context.

[@TheBackFocus]

It’s more of a trigger warning to ensure that it doesn’t bring up any past trauma for those watching. It’s important to make sure the audience is aware of certain topics we cover in the videos upfront.

[@DeCapitanOG]

​@@TheBackFocus Gay AF

[@moozipan]

@@TheBackFocus I appreciate the trigger warning. Please don't give in to the alt right crowd who try to spread hatred wherever they can.

[@musstakrakish]

Fandom, Fandom never Changes.

[@klauskillski3881]

child actors' careers often end tragically. blaming the fans now is a stretch. just to broaden the perspective, professional athletes are also hated by many

[@moozipan]

@klauskillski3881 Do you know many 10 year old professional athletes? And would you support the public and coordinated harassment of those? Actually, maybe it's best if you don't answer that.

[@klauskillski3881]

@@moozipan the professional athletes statement was related to the situation of Ahmed Best. Parents have control over child actors. It is their duty to protect them. 10 year olds don't read film reviews. Schizophrenia is not something you just get, there has to be a genetic predisposition. People with relatives who suffer from schizophrenia have been shown to have a higher risk of developing the disease, which is what happened to Jake Lloyd, his father's family having a history of the illness.

[@moozipan]

@@klauskillski3881 I know you just wanted to bring a strawman into the room in an attempt to defend the harassment of a child. But please explain how it's acceptable behavior by so called fans to bully a child, or any person for that matter, regardless of their medical history. Or why those so called fans should not be blamed for doing just that.

[@klauskillski3881]

​@@moozipan Did Star Wars fans write the Newsweek article? Were Star Wars fans on the Golden Raspberry Award committee? Who bullied 10-year-old Jake? There was no social media back then and he was bullied by other 10-year-olds in his peer group. His schizophrenia diagnosis was only made public in 2015 when he was arrested for reckless driving. Before that, nobody knew about his condition. Take a look at old interviews with Jake Lloyd and you will see that everyone treated him with great respect and that one awkward interview is just cherry picking. This narrative that the fans hate him is a complete fabrication. Just think about it, he has been to so many conventions and signed autographs and that's because all the fans hate him??? To repeat, he was not bullied by Star Wars fans but by his peer group at school or college. 10 year olds bully other 10 year olds, Star Wars fans have nothing to do with that

[@moozipan]

​@@klauskillski3881 First you defend the harassment, then you deny there was any harassment by fans, then you fabricate the strawman that it's not "all fans", before going back to denial again. Your inability to see nuance in this whole thing, and your attempt to gaslight the victim by blaming themself, their health condition, the media, and the children, is just plain ridiculous. You are 100% part of the problem.

[@zarkolja963]

Jake Lloyd deserved so much better...

[@brandonthesteele]

Concur on things like the Razzies not making sense outside of mean spirited hate fests. I thought in my early 20's that by being part of a chorus of voices that focus on works that didn't go over well and critique them down to the molecule made for a better world. It had to, right? But, whatever returns you get for that diminishes really quick and it just makes the world a gray, boring, neurotic place. I don't leave starred reviews in my Letterboxd entries, except occasional 5-star ones to boost movies I really love.

[@AynenMakino]

I wonder if a similar story needs telling of someone who part-took in the bullying. Did they change? Did they remain the same? Did they understand what they were doing? Do they understand it now? Do they care at all? Put a face to it.

[@ladyaceina]

and the sad thing is this shit is STILL happening

[@PokyBallinBabo]

Seems like every kid who's had a sizeable part in a couple of blockbusters ended up with serious psychological problems.

[@ApatheticCrow]

He literally had paranoid schizophrenia. That's not something you develop from bullying. This narrative is ridiculous.

[@TheBackFocus]

Never said that.

[@ApatheticCrow]

​@@TheBackFocus I think the fact that he was misdiagnosed with Bipolar until college and all the family drama that happened in his life is a massive hole. You made it all about star wars drama. This video does nothing for mental health. You just want to shame people for calling new star wars shows bad.

[@ApatheticCrow]

@@TheBackFocus Honestly it's offensive.

[@TheBackFocus]

@@ApatheticCrow not shaming people for thinking a show is bad. Simply calling out the small percentage of fans who were/are unnecessarily ugly with actors for things beyond their control. If you interpreted this video in a different way than I intended, then that’s on me. Peace and love.

[@moozipan]

@@ApatheticCrow People are being shamed for continuing the cycle of harassment in every single iteration of Star Wars, and nowadays it's usually done for sexism, racism and other bigoted motivations. But since it's so easy to look up your profiles on other platforms, it's obvious that you are a big part of the problem, so you only complain because you personally feel called out in this video.

[@stevejames5580]

uhh, you’re a prequel defender now? excuse me while I unsub.

[@TheBackFocus]

I don’t like the prequels. They’re borderline unwatchable to me. Just telling Jake’s story.

[@secondarycontainment4727]

No, the so called hate should not have been directed at that child. It should have been directed at the people in charge. You know - just like it is now. For all the DEI garbage. Yes, that hate is justified. Get rid of the wokeness and get back to telling good stories.

[@TheBackFocus]

It is directed at people in charge, currently. I’m not discounting the DEI argument, and agree with it in some cases. But there’s still a percentage of fans that attack the actors, which is unwarranted, unfair, and ugly.

[@secondarycontainment4727]

@@TheBackFocus It's not unwarranted or unfair if there is reason to direct it at those people that vilify anyone that simply wants good stories devoid of DEI agendas - regardless if they are cast or crew. Yeah, it can be ugly. But let's be honest, most of those I am referring to would fully support it if it was coming from their side. Instead they'll act like victims while getting the result of their own actions and still calling on others to do the same on their own behalf. In other words, they are hypocrites that think their own opinions are the only ones that should be heard or respected.

[@moozipan]

@@secondarycontainment4727 DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. You're only calling yourself out by admitting that you have a problem with each of those things.

[@secondarycontainment4727]

@@moozipan DEI is mostly just racism under a different name. But ask yourself, it comes at the expense of who and what? Also, I identify as not what you think I am unless it's a good thing. So, check mate.

[@moozipan]

@@secondarycontainment4727 It's *almost* adorable how you think you made a point with your rambling nonsense.

[@ToxicTurquoise454]

Still a terrible movie, a terrible performance, a terrible interpretation of the character. Jake Lloyd ins't a bad person, but the character he played was insufferable and the film he was in absolutely sucked.

[@TheMAmeph]

So he was poorly written.