Was reading some stuff on TheMarySue, who hate the recent Star Wars and love The Last Jedi (in fact, loving the last movie was mandatory according to them).
A lot of their grievances revolve around the sidelining of Rose Tico in the latest movie, and they were talking about all the things she represents: race, gender, progressive politics, and saying she was the best thing in The Last Jedi, and claiming that sidelining her was Abrams throwing a bone to the Neo-Nazis basically.
It occurred to me that nowhere in the defense of Rose Tico did they really talk about her having delivered a great performance or having a scintillating on screen persona. I found her just plain boring and wooden and not a very good actress. I mean, the most stand out bit is the bit where she kisses Finn and it's pretty much the lamest kiss in screen history. This is probably why JJ sidelined here: he has an unfavorable view of the actor's ability. If he thought he could do anything with her he would have worked something out.
Maybe she'd be good in some drama film set in the present day but if you picture pretty much anyone else playing that same character you'd just imagine it being cooler, even if the same lines were delivered. Imagine if Lucy Liu was Rose Tico instead. So, bullshit on it being about her being female or asian, there are even other female asian actors who the fans would totally lap it up if they'd be cast instead of whats-her-face.