Pablo Hidalgo’s attack on Star Wars Theory further evidence of toxic culture at LucasFilm

Update: Hidalgo has since issued an apology, stating that his words were meant to be self-deprecating. Though this seems to have done little to ease tensions between LucasFilm and the Star Wars community.

LucasFilm has once again come under fire for their treatment of fans following a Twitter fracas between popular Canadian YouTuber Star Wars Theory and the studio’s Story Group Brand Communications Manager Pablo Hidalgo.

The spat broke out after Star Wars Theory posted a reaction video to the latest episode of the Mandalorian. He was seen tearing up when (spoilers) Luke Skywalker appeared on screen as a powerful Jedi Knight. Star Wars Theory is a juvenile cancer survivor, and has said he looked up to Luke during that difficult time in his life.

Things started getting out of hand when a certain subset of the Star Wars community began to accuse Star Wars Theory of faking it to draw attention to his YouTube channel, which has 2.7 million subscribers. It was at this point where Hidalgo jumped into the fray, responding that “emotions are not for sharing.”

One could have easily give him the benefit of the doubt here and assume this was a sarcastic response to SWT’s critics. It’s really hard to communicate that sort of intent over short text messages. However, after he was questioned about the Tweet, he deleted it without offering any sort of clarification. Hidalgo later added a screenshot of it to the banner in his Twitter bio. Which only raised more questions about his actual intent. His account has since been locked.

I think it’s important to bare in mind that we don’t know the whole story here. Perhaps Hidalgo and Star Wars Theory have some sort of past beef. However, based on the evidence we do have, this seems to be an entirely unprovoked attack on a fan. This is not a member of the Fandom Menace we’re talking about here. It’s someone who has generally been very positive about the Star Wars brand.

This isn’t the first time Hidalgo has been combative with fans either. Though this one seems to have hit a particular nerve within the community. You know you’ve really screwed up when both mainstream and independent media on the left and right start to condemn your actions.

Now, it has been brought up that Star Wars fans did something similar to another YouTuber, who teared up over the Rise of Skywalker trailer. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that the fandom can’t be complete buttholes sometimes. Just look at how Jake Lloyd and Ahmad Best were treated. When things get out of line like that, it’s important that it’s called out.

The key difference here though is that Hidalgo works for LucasFilm. Not only does he work for them, he’s very influential within the company. When you’re placed into a leadership role, you’re there to set an example for your staff. You also outwardly project the values of the organization. Dog piling on a customer for any reason is extremely unprofessional, but especially so for someone so high up in the organization. Not only does it reflect poorly on them, but on those values of company as a whole. What this says is that LucasFilm couldn’t care less about those paying for, and enjoying, their products.

Making matters worse is that Star Wars Theory is arguably one of the biggest brand influences for the franchise. Which is why this blew up in the first place. If there’s one thing Disney hates, it’s bad press.

Walt Disney may have been a lot of things (but not an anti-Semite), but this behaviour never would have happened were he still in charge. For that matter, the poor treatment of fans never would never have been allowed if George Lucas was still running Star Wars and LucasFilm. I can’t recall a single instance of a fan getting chewed out by an employee back then, even during the height of the prequel hate. Frankly, if I were George, I’d be appalled to have my good name attached to what the studio has become.

This company has done nothing but attack and badmouth its customers ever since The Last Jedi came out. Which is what caused the schism that led to the rise of the Fandom Menace in the first place. People were, correctly, upset. Not only at how the venerable franchise was being handled, but the attitude they were getting from staff.

It’s worth noting that Hidalgo’s comments are rather light weight compared to some of the politically, racially, and sexually charged language coming from other LucasFilm employees. However, it all points to a deeply toxic culture within the organization. That falls entirely into Kathleen Kennedy’s lap. Widespread poor behaviour by staff almost always circles back to whomever is in charge. Either the lunatics are being allowed to run the asylum due to impotent leadership, or this attitude is actually being egged on by upper management. Neither of which paints a particularly rosy picture. I’m aware of the rumoured civil war between Kennedy and Favreau/Filoni’s factions within LucasFilm, but that’s really no excuse.

So what should we do with Pablo? Well, I absolutely detest cancel culture and don’t like to see people be harassed or lose their livelihood over social media gaffes. But when you have the Brand Communications Manager mouthing off to a very good customer, then apparently mocking the situation after getting caught, that’s difficult to defend. I dabbled a bit in corporate social media in my last job. If you’re presenting yourself as a brand rep, you have to conduct yourself professionally at all times. He’s in a role where he most certainly should know better.

Personally, I would have fired Hidalgo on the spot for that, if for the sole purpose of making an example. You abuse the paying customers, you’re gone, no matter how high up you are. Furthermore, I’d be calling all my staff in for social media training, and instructing my community managers to keep a tight leash on what employees are posting on accounts linked to the company. Even if they are personal ones. If you’re going to trash talk, at least keep it anonymous. And always remember that there’s a human being on the other end.