• Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • LAD Originals

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Not now
OK
Advert
Advert
Advert

Here's What Happened To 'Star Wars Kid' After He Went Viral

Tom Wood

Published 
| Last updated 

Here's What Happened To 'Star Wars Kid' After He Went Viral

The internet is a pretty hateful and scary place to be a lot of the time. Everyone is so angry and there is a good chance you'll run into something genuinely horrible just by scrolling through Twitter.

It wasn't always like that though. Cast your mind back - if you can - to the golden days of the early 2000s.

The internet was, of course, still in black and white back then; and everyone was only interested in watching videos of dancing bananas and badgers.

Advert

OK, maybe that's a slightly rose tinted way of looking at it, but it was a simpler time.

In the midst of all of the animated fruit and songs about animals was one young kid who ended up being the biggest of all - Star Wars Kid.

Star Wars Kid was a 14-year-old from Canada who recorded himself doing a load of Star Wars style choreography with what looks like a curtain rail. His name is Ghyslain Raza and he's now an adult.

It turns out that everything about the internet in those days wasn't so innocent after all. Raza had never wanted the footage to get out into the public, let alone be viewed as many times as it has.

Advert

Some estimates think it's been viewed more than a billion times, but because it predates YouTube we will never get an exact figure.

He took a lot of abuse for it too, some really horrible stuff.

In 2013, he told Macleans: "What I saw was mean. It was violent. People were telling me to commit suicide.

"No matter how hard I tried to ignore people telling me to commit suicide, I couldn't help but feel worthless, like my life wasn't worth living."

Advert

The bullying got so bad that he eventually had to drop out of school and seek expensive psychiatric help. He was invited onto TV shows and to give interviews but didn't want to further his humiliation.

The story does have a happy ending though, at least.

Even after dropping out he managed to pick up his high school diploma and get into Law School.

Advert

In 2013, aged 25, he decided to dedicate his time to speaking out against the kind of cyberbullying that he experienced and to offer support to anyone going through a similar thing.

His message to people in that situation is pretty simple, telling Macleans: "You'll survive. You'll get through it... you're not alone. You are surrounded by people who love you,"

Given where the internet is at today, the world needs Star Wards Kid more than ever.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube

Topics: Viral, Star Wars, YouTube

Tom Wood
More like this
Advert
Advert
Advert

Chosen for YouChosen for You

Entertainment

Jonnie Irwin makes surprise return to TV following terminal cancer diagnosis

9 minutes ago

Most Read StoriesMost Read

Peter Kay is planning for Phoenix Nights Christmas special and he wants a movie to be made

21 hours ago