Warning: this post contains spoilers for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
“Star Wars” actor John Boyega felt the force of online outrage Tuesday after making a crude joke about his character hooking up with Jedi hero Rey in their fictional galaxy.
The star made the crass quip in response to a fan, who joked on Instagram that the death of his character’s romantic rival in new flick “The Rise of Skywalker” had opened the door for Boyega’s character Finn.
“It’s not about who she kisses but who eventually lays the pipe. You are a genius,” Boyega responded.
His comment touched off a flurry of criticism from other fans who accused Boyega of misogyny and poor taste.
“Bro you re extremly [sic] disgusting and gross also fucking disrespectful…you cannot be this jealous of adam driver dude,” Twitter user Hannha Crogmen wrote with a screen shot of Boyega’s comment, referencing the actor who plays Kylo Ren.
Boyega defended his comment, noting that it was a joke about fictional characters — and not Daisy Ridley, the actress who plays Rey.
“You obviously don’t know the diffrence [sic] between a fictional world and reality,” Boyega tweeted back to Crogmen.
“I was talking about Rey from Star Wars. When did I speak about women in general?” he wrote to another critic on Instagram.