Kelly Marie Tran reveals her real name as she breaks silence after racist trolls force her off Instagram
Kelly Marie Tran deleted her Instagram after so-called fans of Star Wars trolled her with vile sexist and racist comments about her looks and her Asian heritage.
But now, shes fighting back – and we adore her for it.
The 29-year-old, who plays Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has spoken out for the first time since being forced off social media, and has revealed that she didnt leave because of the comments themselves, but because she started to believe them.
Writing for the New York Times, Kelly said: Their words seemed to confirm what growing up as a woman and a person of colour already taught me: that I belonged in margins and spaces, valid only as a minor character in their lives and stories.
Their words reinforced a narrative I had heard my whole life: that I was “other,” that I didnt belong, that I wasnt good enough, simply because I wasnt like them. And that feeling, I realise now, was, and is, shame, a shame for the things that made me different, a shame for the culture from which I came from. And to me, the most disappointing thing was that I felt it at all.
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Kelly – who grew up in California and was born to Vietnamese parents – said that the shame had followed her and her family around for years, with her parents adopting the American-ised names Tony and Kay so theyd be easier for others to address.
But now, Kelly has realised that she was being brainwashed by the trolls, and is fighting the ideals of a white dominated world.
The actress finished her op-ed by revealing her real name.
More: Star Wars
She wrote: You might know me as Kelly. I am the first woman of colour to have a leading role in a Star Wars movie.
I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started.
Mic. Drop. Trolls. Destroyed.
Kelly will return as Rose in Star Wars: Episode IX, so suck on that, haters.
Its not just Kelly who is fighting to make Asian voices heard in Hollywood.
Crazy Rich Asians is the first present-day film from a major Hollywood studio to have an all-Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993, and is smashing the box office, raking in $34 million (£26m) in its first five days.
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MORE: Mum makes Crazy Rich Asians-inspired dress for five-year-old to embrace her heritage
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