We were always told, even before Disney took over and ruined the franchise and blamed the fans, that the reason Jake Lloyd left acting after his role as young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace was the negative reaction by the fans, to the point even kids in his class were picking on him for it. We heard that he was so distressed that the former Star Wars fans smashed up his toys in anger.
Well, apparently that’s not the case. Oh, the bullying happened, but what led him to leave acting was, according to Lloyd’s mother Lisa, Lloyd actually suffering from mental health issues plus his family’s divorce distressed him and that’s why he left acting. He didn’t even know about the fan backlash, but did deal with kids in school making fun of him. Whether they were jealous he was acting or saw the backlash and joined in, we don’t know. It’s still a sad story, but whatever problems I had to the response to the prequels (which admittedly had problems but it was still an overreaction, especially compared to what we get now) it still goes against the “toxic fan” narrative, which I was part of perpetuating when it came to Lloyd. I hope he’s getting the help he needs.
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