Kelly Marie Tran Calls Out 'White-Dominated World' in Powerful Response to Racist 'Star Wars' Trolls

In fact she hit back at them in a viral New York Times essay in which she declares, "You might know me as Kelly. I am the first woman of color to have a leading role in a 'Star Wars' movie. I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started."

The actress, who plays Rose Tico in the blockbuster franchise, pushed back against a "white-dominated world" and those who want to keep it that way. In what appears to be a direct response to the nasty comments that flooded her social media after starring in "The Last Jedi," she starts off the powerful essay with, "It wasn't their words, it's that I started to believe them."

"Their words seemed to confirm what growing up as a woman and a person of color already taught me: that I belonged in margins and spaces, valid only as a minor character in their lives and stories," she continued, then detailed a few instances of the regular racism she had been subjected to her entire life.

"Their words reinforced a narrative I had heard my whole life: that I was 'other,' that I didn't belong, that I wasn't good enough, simply because I wasn't like them," she added.

The actress described buying into this narrative as being "brainwashed" while growing up "as a person of color in a white-dominated world," then vowed to do whatever she can to make sure future generations aren't.

"This is the world I grew up in, but not the world I want to leave behind," she wrote. "I want to live in a world where children of color don't spend their entire adolescence wishing to be white. I want to live in a world where women are not subjected to scrutiny for their appearance, or their actions, or their general existence. I want to live in a world where people of all races, religions, socioeconomic classes, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities are seen as what they have always been: human beings."

Tran's words are resonating with readers, big time, with many taking to Twitter to admit they cried while reading it. Her "Last Jedi" director, Rian Johnson, retweeted with a hearty endorsement, while Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson shared it as well. See a sampling of the positive reaction below.