Ron Howard defended Jake Lloyd before Star Wars: Phantom Menace was even released.

It’s been nearly 25 years since Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace debuted. The film has been reevaluated several times over the years, but different elements of it have been heavily condemned by fans at various points. Even big media took digs at the film before its release, prompting former child star and filmmaker Ron Howard to write a letter to Newsweek criticizing them for targeting child actor Jake Lloyd.

Lloyd, who played the young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace, has made headlines again when his mother spoke up about her son’s mental health difficulties and the influence that being a Star Wars character had, and did not have, on his mental health. A Star Wars fan Twitter account, @sw_tweets, reprinted a message written by Ron Howard, who had previously been asked to direct The Phantom Menace, following Newsweek’s attack on the child.

The letter is dated January 19, 1999, and Howard even says in the letter that the Newsweek article, which appeared to criticize Jake Lloyd for purported bad acting, was based on rumors and unnamed sources.

After all, no one had watched the movie by this point. Howard firmly disagrees with the notion about Lloyd’s abilities, but he is most offended that Newsweek would say such negative things about a child before they had even viewed the film. Mark Hamill has also defended Lloyd in the past.

While Jake Lloyd’s unpleasant reaction to the Phantom Menace may not have had an influence on his mental health, we know that is not always true. Ahmed Best has freely discussed how the hatred directed toward Jar Jar Binks took a toll on him mentally. Best has since claimed to having suicidal thoughts due to the relentless hostility.

While the actor’s performance may not have had a big impact on his career choice or mental health, it’s tough not to agree with Ron Howard’s ultimate argument, which is that criticizing a kid actor, whether or not you’ve watched the film, is simply unwarranted. It does not accomplish anything positive.
The Phantom Menace is usually regarded as a horrible film, which is fine. Some fans have even proposed a method of viewing the Star Wars films that eliminates The Phantom Menace. It’s fine if it’s a lousy movie, but it doesn’t have to be offensive to youngsters.

25 years later, “The Phantom Menace” remains a strangely affectless, stilted film full of intriguing concepts but awkward execution (along with some plain horrible stuff). That is not to say that “Star Wars” fans were right to tear the film’s cast and crew apart psychologically. Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd were notoriously abused for their respective roles as Jar Jar Binks and a young Anakin Skywalker, to the point where Best fell into a deep despair and even considered suicide. Meanwhile, Lloyd faced nearly as much hate from the nameless online masses for committing the seemingly heinous crime of presenting a not-so-great kid performance in a  movie full of questionable acting.

Because of this, the myth has long been that Lloyd quit acting due to the criticism to “The Phantom Menace”… yet according to his family, this is not the case.
Child actors typically have brief careers, and few go on to act as adults. At worst, Hollywood chews them up and spits them out when they’re no longer needed (like what happened to Bobby Driscoll, who voiced Peter Pan in Disney’s 1953 animated feature). . Other times, they simply decide to pursue a different career, become tired of the acting grind, or leave for other reasons.

Jake Lloyd’s mother, Lisa Lloyd, claimed that his decision to leave acting after appearing in “The Phantom Menace” and the ’90s Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas comedy “Jingle All the Way” was due to a combination of his bad mental health and other circumstances.

Lisa Lloyd, who guaranteed that she is speaking up with her son’s knowledge, claimed that Jake Lloyd was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after experiencing years of mental health issues as a child. Jake Lloyd also suffers from anosognosia, a condition in which “someone is unaware of their own mental health condition or that they can’t perceive their condition accurately” (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

“He didn’t think he needed to take medication because he wasn’t sick,” Lisa Lloyd said. “He didn’t think he needed to go to the therapist because there’s nothing wrong with him.”

This contributed to Jake Lloyd’s poor mental health in the years that followed, culminating in his arrest on several charges after leading police on a car pursuit in 2015. Madison, his younger sister, died unexpectedly in her sleep three years later, when she was 26. “He simply couldn’t handle it. “He didn’t know how to process it,” Lisa Lloyd remembered. “Sometimes he would just start stating how much he missed Madison. That’s all the discourse we’d have about it. At least he acknowledged it.”

Aside from that, Lloyd’s mental condition, which has been classified as paranoid schizophrenia, is unrelated to Star Wars. His mother claims the cause was likely genetic and would have occurred regardless. Lloyd is reportedly 10 months into an 18-month term at a mental health rehabilitation institution after an incident last year. He’s doing well, according to his mother.

Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace is available to stream now on Disney Plus, Prime Video, or Apple TV.

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