A girl and her family harnessed the power of social media this week when she took on Hasbro over a major omission in its Star Wars Monopoly game.
(Warning: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" spoilers)
Annie Rose, age 8, wrote a letter to the game company asking why Rey — undeniably the most important character in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" — was left out of the board game.
"Without her, THERE IS NO FORCE AWAKENS! It awakens in her!" Annie wrote. "Besides, boys and girls need to see that women can be as strong as men! Girls matter!"
Her mom, Carrie Goldman, posted the young fan's message to Twitter on Sunday where it went viral and caught Hasbro's attention.
The company responded the next day, thanking the Chicago girl for her letter and listing the other games that include the character.
"Rey was not included to avoid revealing a key plot line," Hasbro's statement said. "We are thrilled with the popularity of this compelling character and and will continue to look for ways to showcase Rey across all our product lines."
On Wednesday, Hasbro announced that Rey will be included in a new version of Monopoly to be released later this year.
Upon hearing the news, Annie told her mom, "I never knew that a little kid nobody knows could make a difference!"
Family of 'Star Wars' fans
But the force is strong in the Goldman family.
Annie's older sister, Katie, faced bullies in 2010 when she was taunted for liking "Star Wars." Other kids told her that only boys could enjoy the franchise and they made fun of her for carrying a "Star Wars" water bottle.
Her mom wrote about the experience on her blog and asked other female fans to show their support. Katie received countless messages of support and even saw a hashtag created in her honour #maytheforcebewithkatie.
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