Sci-fi fandom’s tradition of being chill and welcoming to women continued this week when Fox News contributor Katherine Timpf began receiving death threats for making fun of Star Wars fans. Timpf was appearing on the network’s satirical early-morning chat show Red Eye last month when she started talking about previous harassment she’d received at the hands of Star Wars diehards. “I have never had any interest in watching space nerds poke each other with their little space-nerd sticks, and I’m not going to start now,†she joked. “You people are crazy … Yesterday I tweeted something, and all I said was that I wasn’t familiar with Star Wars because I’ve been too busy liking cool things and being attractive — people threatened my life.â€
In response to this mild trolling, a few Star Wars fans reacted by escalating their abuse, sending Timpf detailed death threats and making YouTube manifestos against her. Still, she says she will not be bowed by the digital mob. “Obviously, the totally insane whackjobs who have been attacking me don’t represent most Star Wars fans,†she wrote at National Review Online. “But the fact that so many adults have responded with so much unhinged emotion astounds me.â€