LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Anthony Nguyen, attorney and shareholder at Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates recently discussed the racist backlash against Kelly Marie Tran, a Vietnamese-American actress in Star Wars:The Last Jedi. After the movie was released, Tran was targeted by racists online who were not happy with the decision to cast her as the character Rose Tico.

“Kelly Marie Tran is the first woman of color to be cast in a leading role in the Star Wars franchise,” Nguyen states. “Instead of applauding the diverse addition to the cast, some viewers have chosen to insult and degrade Tran with racist comments about her appearance and intelligence.”

“People of color, especially Asian-Americans, are grossly underrepresented in TV and film,” Nguyen continues. “Sadly, it’s comments like these that show why Hollywood may be hesitant to depict more diverse characters.”

“Although Tran had to endure horrific racial abuse online, many others spoke up in her defense,” Nguyen says. “Hopefully, these positive voices will be loud enough to drown out the others so more people of color can get the chances they deserve in Hollywood.”