--- title: Kelly Marie Tran Breaks Silence on Instagram Harassment description: Kelly Marie Tran has spoken out for the first time since wiping her Instagram in June amid reports of extensive harassment. canonical: https://time.com/5373345/kelly-marie-tran-breaks-silence-instagram-harassment/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-21T17:39:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:54:27.399Z og:title: Kelly Marie Tran Breaks Silence After Deleting Instagram Because of Racist Abuse og:description: "It wasn’t their words, it’s that I started to believe them" og:url: https://time.com/5373345/kelly-marie-tran-breaks-silence-instagram-harassment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt675df4deac9f954b/6989383786f68ef1a76e9f2c/kelly-marie-tran-harassment.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Kelly-Marie-Tran-Harassment og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kelly Marie Tran Breaks Silence After Deleting Instagram Because of Racist Abuse twitter:description: "It wasn’t their words, it’s that I started to believe them" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt675df4deac9f954b/6989383786f68ef1a76e9f2c/kelly-marie-tran-harassment.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kelly Marie Tran Breaks Her Silence After Deleting Instagram Because of Racist Abuse > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 21, 2018 5:39 PM UTC  Kelly Marie Tran attends the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones Kelly Marie Tran attends the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 21, 2018 5:39 PM UTC [Kelly Marie Tran](http://time.com/5301772/last-jedi-kelly-marie-tran-harassment/) has spoken out for the first time since wiping her [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kellymarietran/?hl=en) in June amid [reports](https://twitter.com/SWTweets/status/1003833275738013697) of extensive harassment about her role in the [_Star Wars_](http://time.com/5045736/upcoming-star-wars-movies/)franchise. In a [_New York Times_ op-ed](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/movies/kelly-marie-tran.html) that was published on Tuesday, Tran—who played Resistance mechanic Rose Tico in _The Last Jedi_—reflected on her decision to delete her account after being subjected to months of sexist and racist comments. Tran is the first woman of color to appear in a lead role in a _Star Wars_ movie. “It wasn’t their words, it’s that I started to believe them,” she wrote. “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.” The 29-year-old Asian-American actor went on to discuss her lifelong battle with racial and misogynistic persecution before vowing to continue fighting for a better future. “I want to live in a world where children of color don’t spend their entire adolescence wishing to be white,” she wrote. “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 concluded the essay with a powerful announcement of her real name. “You might know me as Kelly,” she wrote. “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. 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