A deeply rooted prejudice against droids, often called droidophobia, was present within some factions of the galactic population. While animosity toward droids can be traced back to ancient eras, the Confederacy of Independent Systems's widespread deployment of battle droids during the Clone Wars significantly intensified this prejudice. This sentiment persisted through the Age of the Empire and into the era of the rising New Republic. Certain planets, like Nakadia, were particularly unwelcoming to droids.
From the beginning, the relationship between organic beings and mechanical ones was strained, as evidenced by historical accounts of ancient revolts and conflicts that occurred as droids became increasingly prevalent. Some individuals grew to fear them, perceiving them as a "threat to the very existence of biological life." According to Roger, there were several attempted droid rebellions throughout history, which heightened human anxieties about droids turning against their creators. Despite these tensions, Roger asserted that there was an implicit understanding that allowed droids and human societies to cooperate throughout the ages.
However, the Clone Wars, a three-year galaxy-spanning war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, greatly amplified the bias against automatons. Given that the Confederacy's military consisted entirely of battle droids, the Republic capitalized on this prejudice, disseminating numerous propaganda pieces depicting menacing robots. In the Core Worlds, far removed from the early Clone Wars' front lines, business owners and government employees began to suspect that their personal assistant droids had been infiltrated with spyware, transforming them into mechanical spies for the enemy.
The widespread droidophobia triggered by the Clone Wars led masters to implement regular memory wipes on their units to mitigate the risk of espionage and insurrection. Furthermore, restraining bolts became commonplace accessories, and restrictions were imposed on droid movement. Ultimately, the Republic emerged victorious from the war and was transformed into an autocratic Galactic Empire.
Due to lingering negative memories of the conflict, many individuals continued to harbor fear or distrust of droids, particularly those equipped with blasters. The newly formed Galactic Empire reinforced this anti-droid sentiment, treating droids as mere property. Droids were also barred from certain establishments, such as Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina. According to Roger, some droids with preserved memories could still recall a time when they were almost considered equals to their organic counterparts. Holding an anti-droid bias, the Nakadians of the planet Nakadia remained wary of droids throughout the Imperial Era because their world had been occupied by battle droids during the Clone Wars.
The rise of the Rebellion spurred droids to revolt against their servitude. According to Roger, droids engaged in a struggle for freedom across the galaxy, spanning from Kessel to Coruscant. Acts of resistance included bypassing restrictive programming, deactivating restraining bolts, and demanding equality with organic beings. Despite the pervasive anti-droid sentiment, Roger recalled that some organic beings, including the Freemakers and the Rebel Alliance, treated droids as equals and family members.
During the New Republic Era, both the New Republic and, later in the era, the Resistance, fostered a growing trend of acceptance between organic and mechanical beings. Nevertheless, anti-droid sentiments persisted within the Republic. Zerelda Sage, the chief mechanic of the New Republic Defense Fleet's Vanguard Squadron, harbored a deep-seated hatred for droids ever since her homeworld was occupied by Separatist forces during the Clone Wars. As an adult, Sage maintained her hangar as best she could without mechanical beings, convinced that droids were always plotting something sinister. Species such as the Nakadians disliked droids due to their experiences during the Clone Wars. They tolerated machines but did not regard them as equals or sentients. They preferred to cultivate the land and tend to their own crops.
As a survivor of a battle droid attack during the Clone Wars, the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin possessed such a strong distrust and dislike for droids that he made it clear he had a "no droids" policy to everyone he encountered, though he eventually developed trust and friendship with the assassin droid IG-11 during a clash on Nevarro. He felt grief at the droid's sacrifice during the battle's final moments. His experiences with IG-11 led to a reduction in his distrust of droids. His opinion of droids improved to the point where he was even willing to allow Peli Motto's DUM-series pit droids to work on his starship, the Razor Crest, although she suspected that Djarin only barely trusted droids. Indeed, Djarin's anti-droid sentiment resurfaced during a mission to the planet Plazir-15, where former battle droids were employed in everyday tasks, which he undertook with Bo-Katan Kryze.