Emo Kylo Ren

Editor's Note: This entry may contain light, character-related spoilers.

About

Emo Kylo Ren is a parodic anonymous Twitter account where the supposed user is the character Kylo Ren from the film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, except with the inflection of an emo teen. Following the popularity of the film, the Twitter account became very popular.

Origin

In the film, Kylo Ren is played by Adam Driver, most well-known for his previous role in the television show Girls as an angsty, millennial love interest of the main character. In addition, the character wears all black and has long hair that can be compared to the style of hair worn by those in the emo subculture.^[2] The character of Emo Kylo Ren was created using the account name @KyloR3n; the account's first tweet was posted on December 21st, 2015 and by December 28th had received over 1,100 retweets and 3,000 likes.^[1]

Spread

As of December 28th, 2015, Emo Kylo Ren has over 386,000 followers. The account has been lauded for its humor in a wide variety of publications, including USA Today,^[3] the Daily Dot,^[4] and Business Standard.^[5]

Reylo Controversy

On January 25th, 2018, Syfy.com^[6] published an interview with the creator of Emo Kylo Ren, Washington Post writer and satirist Alexndra Petri. During the interview, Petri made several comments about the shipping fan fiction between Kylo and Rey (commonly referred to as Reylo), and the fans that reach out to her on Twitter. She says:

""It's funny to see how many people are like 'this is going to be my yearbook quote,' [and it's] Kylo Ren having a thought about something," Petri says. "I think a part of him is still in high school. He's playing the oboe in band; he's definitely some sort of woodwind… Because he sort of feels like this sad teenager, he feels almost less harmful. There's this very soft feeling, like, 'aww, he's sleeping with his Darth Vader plush.' There's this softcore to him where people feel less like, 'oh, this man has destroyed several star systems.' People are like, 'actually, he didn't want it to happen.'

"I'm like, internet, this isn't a meet-cute. You can all do so much better than somebody who abducts you. Just because we call it a bridal carry doesn't mean it's okay. All these teens were sending me videos of them playing the oboe and I'm like, 'You can all do better. You deserve a nice man.' Then we get into the Han Solo, 'I'm a nice man' nonsense. Find a good supportive fellow instead!"

Some fans took issue with Petri's comments on the relationship fans have with Kylo. That day, Twitter user @forcemates tweeted, "we really needed @petridishes to condescend us for empathising with a character who has been through lifelong grooming, and enjoying a ship rooted in redemption and healing. you've been straight-up capitalising on making @KyloR3n lighthearted and accessible to fans. shame on you."

Petri responded directly and said, "I’m so sorry. Sometimes I‘m bad at doing talking about what I love and this was one of those times. If I didn’t love and empathize with Kylo I wouldn’t have spent years writing him and I don’t look down on anyone else who does. I’m sorry a thing I said made the world more garbage."

The conversation ended with @forcemates saying, "thank you for the clarification Alexandra. I enjoyed your podcast and was confused by the jarring shift in tone with the syfy wire article. I'm glad it wasn't your intention to belittle people and I really appreciate the response."

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References