Mark Hamill, Ted Cruz Butt Heads Over Net Neutrality On Twitter
Mark Hamill and Ted Cruz were involved in a Twitter feud after the Star Wars actor posted a tweet criticizing FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
Hamill Slams Ajit Pai
It all started when Pai posted a video of himself wielding a lightsaber and making fun of net neutrality supporters on Twitter. This didn't sit well with Hamill, who plays the iconic role of Luke Skywalker in George Lucas' epic space opera franchise, and so he decided to call Pai out.
"Cute video Ajit 'Aren't I Precious?' Pai," Hamill tweeted on Saturday, Dec. 16, followed by a nauseated face emoji. "But you are profoundly unworthy to wield a lightsaber-A Jedi acts selflessly for the common man-NOT lie 2 [sic] enrich giant corporations."
He then asked the FCC chairman if he paid Star Wars music producer John Williams royalty for using his soundtrack and concluded his tweet with the hashtag #AJediYouareNOT.
The Last Jedi star wasn't the only one who was irked by Pai's video. Record label Mad Decent and DJ/music producer Baauer accused Pai of copyright infringement for using the Harlem Shake track without consent. The video was later taken down by YouTube temporarily before resurfacing on the video-sharing website.
FCC's Decision to Repeal Net Neutrality
For those who do not know, Net Neutrality refers to the 2015 regulations passed during the Obama administration that prohibits ISPs like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon from blocking users' access to content, applications or websites. On Thursday, Dec. 14, the Republican-controlled FCC voted to repeal the regulations in favor of new rules that net neutrality supporters claim will allow ISPs to exploit consumers.
Cruz And Hamill's Twitter Squabble
Shortly after Hamill's tweet to Pai, Republican Senator Ted Cruz rushed to the FCC chairman's defense and tweeted to Hamill, saying that the actor should "reject the dark side" and support the FCC's decision to free the net. "Luke, I know Hollywood can be confusing, but it was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet," Cruz wrote. "That's why giant corps (Google, Facebook, Netflix) supported the FCC power grab of net neutrality."
.@HammillHimself Luke, I know Hollywood can be confusing, but it was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet. That's why giant corps (Google, Facebook, Netflix) supported the FCC power grab of net neutrality. Reject the dark side: Free the net! https://t.co/nARkMvIEYk — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 17, 2017
Hamill then shut Cruz down by tweeting that the senator would have more credibility had he spelled his last name correctly before owning him with a reference to Cruz's infamous porn tweet fiasco. In September, the senator's official Twitter account "liked" a pornographic tweet. Cruz later blamed the social media blunder on a staff member.
Thanks for smarm-spaining it to me @tedcruz I know politics can be confusing, but you'd have more credibility if you spelled my name correctly. I mean IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU! Maybe you're just distracted from watching porn at the office again-mh https://t.co/nHpJVG1Wpe — @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 17, 2017
