Mark Hamill and Ben Shapiro have verbally sparred on Twitter over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill—and the internet has backed the Star Wars actor.
The controversial bill refers to a motion passed by the Florida Senate that bans the discussion of sexual orientation or identity in schools for children under the age of 10. Activists have dubbed it the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
The decision has caused uproar online with many people speaking out against the bill, including Luke Skywalker himself, Hamill. Shapiro snapped back at Hamill's initial tweet, before Hamill's swift response gained hundreds of thousands of likes.
Mark Hamill and Ben Shapiro Feud
On Tuesday, Hamill vocalized his support for Florida students who were protesting the "Don't Say Gay" bill by retweeting a message from the Occupy Democrats account. He wrote the word "gay" 69 times in the tweet and included the rainbow emoji, an LGBTQ symbol, at the end. His tweet received 179,000 likes and 35,300 retweets.
gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gaygay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay
🌈 https://t.co/8IroJDi5bN
One of those retweets was from American political commentator and founder of the Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro. He took issue with Hamill's support and wrote: "So I take it you wish to indoctrinate small children into gender and sexual ideology. Because that's the only reason you're parroting idiotic propaganda."
So I take it you wish to indoctrinate small children into gender and sexual ideology. Because that's the only reason you're parroting idiotic propaganda. https://t.co/DeWYQHGaYf
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 9, 2022Late on Thursday, Hamill replied to Ben's message in curt fashion. "Hi Ben,
I LOVE mind-reading acts! Now guess which finger I'm holding up...❤️- Mar🐫" His sign-off is a pun on his own name: Mar-Camel, aka Mark Hamill.
Hamill's tweet has received over 190,000 likes (and counting) and thousands of replies to his tweet, aimed at Shapiro.
Based on the scoreboard of likes that both Shapiro and Hamill received for their tweets and arguments, the internet gave Hamill 10 times more support for his stance on the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
Previous Arguments
This isn't the first time that Shapiro and Hamill have come to blows on Twitter. In November 2019, Shapiro mocked the fan reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Hamill had changed Melania Trump's "Be Best" initiative into the hashtag "BooBest." Retweeting this, Shapiro wrote at the time, "You should have heard the audience for "The Last Jedi" #BooBest"
Hamill is often vocal on social media across his Twitter and Instagram accounts. In January 2020 he publicly deleted his Facebook account because of the decision to allow politicians to run ads on the site. At the time, he wrote a tweet to Mark Zuckerberg and accused him of valuing profit more than truthfulness.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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