Jar Jar Binks actor says his career “began and ended” with Star Wars prequels

Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best has come forward to candidly speak about the backlash his character received in the Star Wars prequels.

The Star Wars prequel trilogy has taken a lot of heat since The Phantom Menace debuted in 1999, but a lot of ire seemed to be thrown at one character in particular: Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar Binks, a member of the Gungan race and the first fully computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, has been mocked by viewers over his childlike demeanor and out-of-place Jamaican accent.

However, the backlash to this character’s inclusion was not just relegated to the performance on screen, and Best has got candid about how much he suffered by the hands of Star Wars fans.

“Everybody came for me,” Best told People as The Phantom Menace heads back into theaters for its 25th anniversary, “I’m the first person to do this kind of work, but I was also the first Black person, Black man.”

Best recalled the backlash he received after the movie premiered as the “first textbook case of cyberbullying” saying, “It really wasn’t easy. I was very young. I was 26. And it’s hard to have this idea that the thing you’ve been working all your life for, you finally get it and you’re finally in the big leagues and the highest level of the game, and you hold your own. All of these years you’re just like, ‘I belong at the top of the game. I belong at the highest level.’

“And then all of a sudden people pull the rug out from under you. And I was just like, ‘What is happening now?’ My career began and ended. I didn’t know what to do, and unfortunately there was really no one that could help me, because it was such a unique position; it had never happened before in history.”

20th Century Fox

The actor continued, “Especially with the internet component. Now there’s an entire field of psychology based on it. But at the time, what do I say to a psychologist? I just tried to do the best job that I could do. But George [Lucas] is untouchable and everybody was untouchable. Who wasn’t untouchable? Me. Everyone came at me.”

Best also explained how hurt he was to see Jar Jar’s role “diminish and disappear” in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith as the humanoid alien went from the main cast to a supporting role.

“I would love just for there to be some really good closure, just to know what happened to Jar Jar. And then I don’t think it needs to be tragic,” Best said. “There was this one piece of Star Wars literature where Jar Jar ended up being this homeless clown in the streets begging for money or something like that. And I was like, ‘I don’t think so.

“I I don’t think that’s Jar Jar’s fate.’ Jar Jar was spectacularly clumsy and failed upwards. He just was just wonderful character that always found a way to succeed. And I would love to know Jar Jar’s fate from there, even if it’s a scene that closes it.”

This isn’t the first time that the backlash against Jar Jar was addressed as Liam Neeson, who starred in the prequels alongside Best, spoke about upset he was to see his co-star being attacked so viciously during a 2020 appearance on SiriusXM’s channel Radio Andy.

“He came into a lot of criticism, I mean to the point where it really hurt his career,” Neeson said. “And I have to say when I was making that film… he was probably one of the funniest guys and talented guys I have ever worked with.”

The actor went on to reveal that he told his manager that he thought Best could become the next Eddie Murphy and how he “still believes that.”

If you want more Star Wars content, make sure you read all about why it’s time for a Star Wars horror movie and our official ranking of the 50 best Star Wars characters.