This kid had us fooled all along…

Posted on by derryX

OFF TOPIC: DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE CONTEST!

Who doesn’t remember “The Star Wars Kid”?

For those of you who lived under a rock around 2003, this happened:

It spiraled into an internet phenomenon. People lined up to add special effects to this thing and create amazing parodies and homages to the original Star Wars Kid video. Nobody knew anything about this kid other than that his name was Ghyslain and that his family was suing the people who leaked the video to the internet because he couldn’t take the abuse he was getting. The legend states that he dropped out of school and entered a psychiatric ward.

In defense of the internet, most of the people watching the video weren’t particularly partaking in abuse, rather they were enjoying what people were doing with the video (i.e. special effects, insertion into movie trailers, etc), because, let’s face it, you pretty much get the point of the above video in the first three seconds.

The internet reached out to Ghyslain and even started a petition to get him a part in Star Wars: Episode 3. Over 100,000 people signed the petition, and the urban legend states that he was offered a part as an extra but declined.

Fast forward to 2010. This picture surfaces:

The Star Wars Kid is now a successful lawyer and hardly looks like he did in the video. Just the sight of this picture has me believe that much of the urban myth that is now “Star Wars Kid” was just fed to us to trick us into feeling bad for him.

Well, I’m done feeling bad for him.

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10 thoughts on “This kid had us fooled all along…”

  • Keith

    Ha, don’t defend the internet on our behalf. I fully enjoyed laughing at his expense in this video and every single iteration that came from it.

    Probably one of my all time favorite memes. Right up there with Grape Stomp Lady…

    If that dude in your comments is actually Jedi Kid, embrace it, dude. You’re a legend.


  • G. Raza

    I came across your site from twitter. All of the legends and myths you talk about are true, and I am still very emotionally scarred from this.

    Imagine if someone stole a video tape of you screwing around at your worst moment and published it so that everyone in the world laughed at you. It was humilliating.

    I would never trick anyone into feeling bad for me. This was a very bad experience.

    I try to say that I moved past it now because I am successful and enjoy life, but I still get reminded because people won’t let it go.


    • derryX

      Ghyslain – if you are trying to move past it, why would you stalk twitter and immediately comment on this? My post has been up for 7 hours, tops…


  • Nabisco

    I don’t feel bad for him at all anyome either.

    You know how they say, “be nice to nerds, you’re probably gonna end up working for them or owing them money”? I thought now he is the embodiment of that saying. And he will still be if that person who commented is not him.

    If it is, well done Jerry, and grow the f@#% up Ghyslain.


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  • Llewes T

    I’m going to side w/ Mr. Raza on this one. As kids, we all have truly embarrassing and humiliating moments, whether it’s being hazed in the locker room and laughed at, being called pizza face in a public place, or or flat out being bullied by those who have no soul. Sure it’s funny to everyone else, but for anyone (which is most everyone) who has had one of those moments, it’s terrifying, and you’d rather die in that moment than have to endure it forever being in people’s heads, and having that association.

    While it looks as though Mr. Raza has grown up and become quite successful in life (kudos), I can appreciate his mental scarring of the incident. It doesn’t mean it has crippled him in life, or he’s socially inept, but it does mean that as human, we carry things through life, and sometimes it takes a lifetime to truly get past them.

    Mr. Raza’s moment wasn’t just in a high school lunchroom, or even at the ball game – it was across the EARTH. That’s huge, and I can feel his angst on this. There is a point of truly dealing with it and not letting it affect you anymore, too. The more he hates the whole thing, the more power and control he gives it over his life. He doesn’t have to embrace it, but he does have to make peace with it.

    I do think, though, that he should have taken the extras part in SW:III. In some way, it could have been the underdog showing up everyone by actually spinning his misfortune of a universal berating into “Lucas called ME, not YOU” flip off to the people who used him as a visual butt of a joke.

    Nabisco is right though on one part: The geeks of the world is who everyone else ends up working for, so pick your battles wisely (or not at all) in your youth. And let’s try to stay a bit human about our fellow beings.


    • Keith

      No, curling up into a ball and resenting your bullying is not an option if you’re going to grow up and be an adult some day. Bullies only pick on you as long as they get a reaction, so standing up for yourself is the easiest way to diffuse the situation.

      Instead of acting like a total coward when you’re picked on in school, roll with it and it will pass. Instead of crying over someone posting a video of you on YouTube, roll with the punches and move the fuck on.

      I have absolutely no sympathy for someone that wallows in their own sorrow.


  • derryX

    Update: I traced the IP address to G. Raza, and it is indeed from Canada. I sent an email to the address input by this user explaining the tone of the post and inviting him to come back, and the email did not get bounced back. I really hope that whoever this person is decides to get back in touch with me (either here or through email) just to put a lid on this conversation for a while.

    Whoever Llewes T is, left a bogus email address, but is from my area, so I’m sure it’s just someone blowing off some steam.

    I’d really like to get these guys back here commenting so that we can get some good closure to this topic.


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