[UPDATED] Daisy Ridley Deleted Her Instagram

Jill Pantozzi | August 2nd, 2016

The Dark Side of the internet has struck again. Star Wars actor (and perpetual blessing) Daisy Ridley has deleted her Instagram account. This is truly the darkest timeline.

[Editor’s Note: Several updates are at the end of this post.]

This is becoming a really bad trend. It was just a few weeks ago Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones felt the need to leave Twitter after she was verbally abused by horrible racists, now it seems other generally horrible people are to blame for Ridley shutting down her Instagram.

Ridley is still new to the industry but has used her Instagram account to great effect by sharing fun moments with fans, giving messages of hope, and kindness. But she has already been on the receiving end of bad behavior from bad people (as most of us have) on the internet before. Apparently this time she’s decided she’s had enough.

I was alerted to this latest celebrity chase-off by Tess Fowler on Twitter and FrozingMusings on Tumblr caught a bit of what actually happened with screenshots from Ridley’s official Facebook page, which still exists. She often cross-posted things to her Instagram so I can only assume she took heat there as well. Unfortunately since it’s now deleted I can’t know for sure. But Ridley wrote a message of peace on Facebook yesterday [Edit: Looks like this FB post is now gone also.]:

Thinking about how lucky I am like……… Serious bit: as I sat in the audience yesterday tears were streaming down my face at the tribute to those that have been lost to gun violence. I didn’t get a great picture of the incredible group that came on stage but they were so brave. It was a true moment of togetherness. We must ‪#‎stoptheviolence‬

And well, because she, a celebrity, dared to share an opinion about something other than Star Wars on her own page, fans took the opportunity to tell her how wrong she was and that she should just never talk about politics at all. Like they own her or something.

Well Dasiy, you have just lost a fan. With the utter lack of research, and an obvious zero knowledge on the subject, this is probably something you should not be talking about.

Please do not start with any liberal statements or movements. We are all against violence. People kill people guns don’t. Don’t ruin Star Wars for any of us.

Sorry, didn’t I see you using a blaster in Star Wars Episode VII? Get outta here, you’re no better than Matt Damon. I might have to unfollow your page.

Says the woman who kills people with guns in movies. Such hypocrisy in Hollywood. Just shut up, Ridley and make another Star Wars movie.

We all love you so much, however please stay out of politics. Hollywood needs less political stand points and more humanity for the environment. Please, be the neutral voice and a good role model and just stay clear of all the drama. Trust me the violence over here is being fueled by politicians with their own agenda on both sides. There are two sides to every story and a head in every pocket. We are forgetting the true problems of the world right now.

Daisy, I love everything you do and your voice for a lot of things, but violence inflicted with guns is probably not the best topic to bring to your fan base. Stopping the violence is a wonderful sentiment, but the only way to ensure that happens is through education and mental health treatment improvements. Evil will always find a way to re-surface. How we deal with the evil person is the real issue we all face.

I know how we stop the violence Daisy Ridley. We arm ourselves just like you did in Star Wars. When evil people inflict death and destruction upon you, righteous violence IS the answer. (I would like to add that a Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defense. Never attack.)

Like, WHAT?

Of course there were many supporting what she said and defending her from those who felt they were owed something but once people realized her Instagram account was gone, fans took to her co-star John Boyega’s Instagram to ask him to get her to come back. Which is also super inappropriate. But he answered them. And his answer was no.

“She’s doing what’s best for her. I won’t be advising my friend to come back. Sorry,” he wrote to one fan and then another, “Can’t do that. She make her own decisions and as a friend I support her right to.” Those replies have since been deleted it seems, and I don’t blame him, I wouldn’t want to get in the middle of this either.

We’ll see if Ridley just needed to step back for a bit and unplug, or if this move is permanent which would be a detriment to the world. Celebrities who put themselves on social media and share personal things don’t have to! That’s a bonus for fans and if you’re going to treat that person, that human being, with disrespect, why should they stick around?

Needless to say, if you were one of those people who felt the need to tell Ridley she shouldn’t be talking about something she has every right to on her social media pages, or if you’ve ever done something similar to anyone else, you should be ashamed of yourself. As with all things, we could all learn to use a bit more kindness and better judgement before speaking.

[Edit: It should go without saying, do not harass anyone who harassed her. I left their names because they posted publicly to Facebook but I do not want to send more badness into the world please.]

[Edit #2: I’ve seen a few people, both here and on social media, claiming that the comments here are “not that bad” or something similar so I want to clarify a few things. We have no idea what kind of comments were on the Instagram account and I only pulled from what was left on Facebook. It’s not our place to decide whether or not Ridley should have disabled the account. We all have to take our mental health into account and do whatever is best for us. And considering what Boyega said, it sounds like that’s exactly what she did.]

[UPDATE] I’ve been provided this screenshot. Apparently Ridley hopped back on Instagram for a short time to leave this message for fans. The account is back to being disabled. A Daisy Ridley Fan Club account says her Instagram is being “edited” after an “incident” on August 1st.

The message reads: “Hey y’all!! Just wanted to explain the hiatus… I just want to be on my phone less! Trying to be more present and all that and got a busy few months ahead so wanted less distractions… It’s all good :) I always appreciate the support and love and Instagram community! X”

[UPDATE #2] Speaking to Glamour in December 2017, Ridley had this to say:

GLAMOUR: Your platform is so big now. Does it compel you to be more vocal now about, well, whatever you want to be vocal about?

DR: I find it really difficult. I was on Instagram, trying to do that whole thing, and people weren’t very nice. I posted a thing about gun regulations, because I was at an event in tribute to the Orlando shooting at Pulse [where 49 people were killed and over 50 were wounded]. People weren’t nice about how I looked. And I was like, “I’m out.” Simple as that. That is not what I signed up for.

GLAMOUR: Why was that the last straw?

DR: Everyone said, “It’s because she talked about gun safety,” but it wasn’t. If I want to talk about gun safety, I will talk about gun safety. And I didn’t sign up for people to go, “You’re amazing!” But I didn’t sign up for them to say things like “Your skin is shit,” either…so I took down the post, and then I deleted my account.

GLAMOUR: At this point social media is kind of an occupational hazard for an actor, isn’t it?

DR: I think, unfortunately, it is. But it’s not good for me, personally. I’m just not equipped for it. I’m super sensitive—not too sensitive—but I really feel things. Also there is also a sense that I’m asked who I’m dating a lot more than John [Boyega] is. I don’t answer, because I have things in my life that are private. There is certainly a personal thing of, “Will people think I’m ungrateful?” Someone literally said to me, “So-and-so didn’t answer questions about that, and they came across really cold.” But I have to come first, because if I am not healthy—I was struggling with anxiety last year—if I’m not mentally healthy, or I’m depleted from sharing so much, I won’t have anything left for when people approach me.