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215:, as online commenters responded with critical or bullying messages. In a 2013 interview, Raza states, "What I saw was mean. It was violent. People were telling me to commit suicide." Among the comments online, one commenter called him "a pox on humanity." He was bullied in person at his school, and he left the campus to pursue private tutoring. He said he lost friends because of the ordeal. He returned to high school for his
42:
452:, using a toy lightsaber to dramatically fight off imaginary foes in the fashion of the Star Wars Kid. Viewers were then invited to edit and enhance it in their own way. Viewers would then send their own videos into the show, on which the best would be featured. The contest culminated with an appearance by
231:
against the families of four of his schoolmates. The lawsuit stated in part that he "had to endure, and still endures today, harassment and derision from his high-school mates and the public at large" and "will be under psychiatric care for an indefinite amount of time". Legal proceedings against one
187:
On
November 4, 2002, Raza made a video of himself swinging a golf ball retriever around as a mock weapon. The video was filmed at his high school studio, and he accidentally left the tape in a basement. It was taped over a portion of a basketball game (as seen extremely briefly at the end of the
271:. As part of the footage, Baio apologized to Raza for uploading the video, having no idea of the impact it would have, and saying "I have enormous regret about posting the video." Raza accepted the apology, recognizing at the time Baio was an empathetic person who made a bad judgement call.
522:, the character Principal Brown videotapes himself in his office swinging a mop around, spoofing the Star Wars Kid—even telling another character to not let the tape get on the Internet because "people's lives have been ruined by things like that", referencing the subsequent bullying.
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against the families of four of his schoolmates, blaming them for the "harassment and derision from his high-school mates and the public at large". The lawsuit had been scheduled to begin trial on April 10, 2006, but on April 7, Raza and his parents reached an out-of-court
157:, Canada. He had not intended for the video to become public, but its subsequent release led to ridicule, during which Raza chose to distance himself from the video. Raza has since affirmed his identity and has used the video to help to speak on the effects of
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heritage society. Raza decided to come forward to assert his identity as the Star Wars Kid to help bring to light the type of bullying and negative attention that children might receive in similar incidents with the rise of social media.
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Several fans related to Raza. "That's why his video so popular: It was funny and awkward but ultimately we connected to him. That made us feel more comfortable with our own awkwardness and dreams of being a
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clip). The video was discovered by a schoolmate, whose friend created a computer file from the video tape. The video was distributed among the school's students. A student uploaded it to the
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services. According to court transcripts, the video first appeared on the
Internet on the evening of April 14, 2003. One of those that first uploaded the video was blogger
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article, "Contrary to popular belief, I think it is not the Jedi kid's awkwardness that keeps him in people's hearts but his undeniable enthusiasm for what he is doing."
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Until May 2013, Raza had taken steps to avoid connecting himself with the video, although his identity was discovered through other means. Raza recounted to
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family were quickly dropped. The lawsuit had been scheduled to begin trial on April 10, 2006, but on April 7, Raza and his parents reached an out-of-court
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that he had received numerous invitations from various late night and talk shows, but he assumed they only wanted to turn him into a "circus act".
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Other fans set up a fundraiser for Raza to show support and as a token of appreciation, garnering donations from more than 400 people online.
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In the 10 years following the propagation of the meme, Raza had become the president of the
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was originally created as a Star Wars Kid reference, and was eventually promoted to main cast.
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The leaked video attracted a number of fans. A petition was started by fans to include Raza in
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estimated that by
November 27, 2006, the video had been viewed over 900 million times.
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of all time. It was ranked #2 on VH1's "Top 40 Internet
Celebrities", right behind
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1190:"Tony Hawks Underground 2 THUG : Find the Star Wars Kid : Easter Egg"
1093:"Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide Easter Egg - Star Wars Kid Reference"
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285:. The petition reached more than 140,000 signatures, but he was not offered a
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643:"WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The 'Star Wars Kid' Sued The People Who Made Him Famous"
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listed the Star Wars Kid as #8 on its Top 10 Web Fads list. In 2007, the
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and references on various television programs, including episodes of
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149:. At the time, Raza was a 15-year-old high school student from
475:" Yankovic is seen at one point as Star Wars Kid, flailing a
389:"; George Michael parodies the video in multiple episodes of
617:"Le retour du "Star Wars Kid" / L'Islande contre-attaque"
448:. He presented a video of himself standing in front of a
1114:"Stephen Colbert's green screen challenge has a winner!"
759:'Star Wars Kid' Blasts Bullies, Jedi Knights Defend Him.
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who was credited with naming the video "Star Wars Kid".
785:"'Star Wars Kid' goes on a media blitz 10 years later"
768:
Mashable.com. May 10, 2013. Retrieved
January 9, 2013.
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The video and its subsequent popularity spawned many
1102:. The Easter Egg Archive. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
509:, the wizard character Neckbeard makes moves with a
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In the episode "The Sky Guy" of the animated series
219:and went on to finish schooling as a law graduate.
131:made in 2002 by Ghyslain Raza in which he wields a
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899:Waxy.org. May 13, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
880:BBC. September 5, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
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344:issues and was extensively reported in mainstream
678:"'Star Wars Kid' cuts a deal with his tormentors"
918:Wired. July 24, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
516:In the episode "The Joy" of the animated series
356:An edited version of the video was created with
227:In July 2003, Raza's family filed a CA$ 250,000
1008:"VH1 Original TV Shows, Reality TV Shows - VH1"
944:'Star Wars Kid' becomes unwilling Internet star
1219:Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows
871:Star Wars fans seek film role for internet kid
264:Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows
261:In 2022, Raza participated in the documentary
950:. August 21, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
928:"'Star Wars kid' emerges as an Internet hero"
8:
282:Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
833:Survive your inevitable online humiliation.
363:, texts, and lightsaber lights and sounds.
934:. June 6, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
816:10 years later, ‘Star Wars Kid’ speaks out
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822:. May 9, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
146:Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
402:Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
1138:McCarthy, Caroline (October 13, 2006).
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1073:from the original on February 16, 2009
196:. The video eventually became a viral
593:Internet Memes, #5: The Star Wars Kid
340:(The Numa Numa Guy). The case raised
7:
525:The Star Wars Kid is featured as an
304:enthusiasts. A fan stated in a 2003
704:from the original on March 20, 2018
431:". The character of Henchman 21 in
1271:Canadian people of Iranian descent
1063:"Star Wars Kid is top viral video"
984:"Top 25 Viral Videos of All Time!"
653:from the original on July 22, 2010
25:
1281:Internet memes introduced in 2003
1140:"Winner in Colbert video contest"
797:from the original on June 9, 2013
492:the main character (portrayed by
849:High school was time of torment.
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513:similarly to the Star Wars Kid.
500:, a spoof of the Star Wars Kid.
496:) goes to Canada to try to meet
783:Weisblott, Marc (May 9, 2013).
728:Rowe, Daniel (March 30, 2022).
211:Raza states he was a victim of
1112:Wu, Annie (October 12, 2006).
696:Jimi Love (January 15, 2006).
1:
1266:Canadian Internet celebrities
269:National Film Board of Canada
27:Viral video and Internet meme
1091:Wolf, David; Wolf, Annette.
519:The Amazing World of Gumball
966:September 15, 2008, at the
909:Star Wars Kid Files Lawsuit
46:A screenshot from the video
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1291:People from Trois-Rivières
1145:September 3, 2014, at the
895:September 4, 2013, at the
890:Finding the Star Wars Kid.
764:September 2, 2013, at the
575:List of Internet phenomena
462:Industrial Light and Magic
194:Jackass_starwars_funny.wmv
68:November 4, 2002
914:October 23, 2013, at the
532:Tony Hawk's Underground 2
444:initiated a contest, the
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1301:Victims of cyberbullying
79:April 14, 2003
1261:Anti-bullying activists
1165:(September 26, 2006). "
1098:April 17, 2016, at the
989:April 30, 2007, at the
876:April 26, 2013, at the
529:in the Boston level of
397:The Immaculate Election
1222:—2022 documentary film
1172:Straight Outta Lynwood
854:April 6, 2006, at the
598:July 20, 2011, at the
446:Green Screen Challenge
332:rated it the number 1
164:Raza's family filed a
1256:Activists from Quebec
1177:Volcano Entertainment
1069:. November 27, 2006.
1042:July 1, 2017, at the
300:," said one group of
236:with the defendants.
179:with the defendants.
1246:2000s YouTube videos
838:. September 6, 2007.
712:– via YouTube.
471:'s music video for "
392:Arrested Development
143:moves from the film
1120:on October 28, 2006
469:"Weird Al" Yankovic
133:golf ball retriever
1049:The New York Times
961:"Top Ten Web Fads"
683:The Globe and Mail
623:on October 6, 2014
506:Wander Over Yonder
440:In 2006, comedian
395:, beginning with "
371:In popular culture
329:Attack of the Show
314:Critical reception
267:, released by the
997:, April 25, 2007.
932:Los Angeles Times
861:. March 29, 2006.
831:Popkin, H. A. S.
606:, Jessica Bennett
434:The Venture Bros.
408:Cory in the House
365:The Viral Factory
120:
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16:(Redirected from
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1251:2003 short films
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1192:. Archived from
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61:Release dates
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18:Star wars kid
1306:Viral videos
1217:
1198:. Retrieved
1194:the original
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1163:Yankovic, Al
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1118:the original
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96:Running time
29:
1241:1988 births
1200:January 25,
859:The Gazette
627:January 25,
494:Justin Long
484:Kevin Smith
421:"; and the
348:worldwide.
334:viral video
247:L'actualité
217:senior year
129:viral video
1236:2002 films
1230:Categories
1124:January 1,
581:References
527:easter egg
477:lightsaber
424:South Park
414:The Office
346:news media
234:settlement
177:settlement
141:lightsaber
137:Darth Maul
83:2003-04-14
72:2002-11-04
948:USA Today
820:Maclean's
790:Maclean's
741:April 24,
486:'s movie
454:Star Wars
427:episode "
417:episode "
385:episode "
359:Star Wars
318:In 2005,
307:USA Today
302:Star Wars
275:Reception
240:Aftermath
206:Andy Baio
1143:Archived
1096:Archived
1071:Archived
1067:BBC News
1040:Archived
987:Archived
964:Archived
912:Archived
893:Archived
874:Archived
852:Archived
836:NBC News
795:Archived
762:Archived
735:CTV News
702:Archived
657:June 24,
651:Archived
604:NewsWeek
596:Archived
539:See also
511:bo staff
456:creator
326:TV show
200:through
190:Internet
159:bullying
52:Starring
1077:May 24,
801:June 4,
342:privacy
229:lawsuit
223:Lawsuit
183:History
172:lawsuit
169:250,000
113:Country
81: (
70: (
1022:May 7,
708:May 7,
419:Finale
377:spoofs
352:Legacy
155:Quebec
116:Canada
361:music
127:is a
1202:2015
1151:CNET
1126:2010
1079:2010
1024:2018
972:CNET
803:2013
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710:2018
659:2010
629:2015
489:Tusk
320:CNET
298:Jedi
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