He likely chose to address it amid the backlash against Tran and others. Plus social media hadn't really existed 20 years ago and sadly online harassment would likely have been happening then too if it did.
But media did exist. The internet, in 1999 was in many American households. I remember the fledgling years of the internet, even before MySpace was a thing. Chat rooms and message boards were the Facebook and Twitter of the day. I visited Star Wars message boards and chat rooms when the special editions were released, and continued to visit them as the Prequels were released. Yeah, a lot of hatred for Jar Jar, and young Anakin (mostly because they called him Annie). A lot of bad mouthing George Lucas, but names like Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd... I had forgotten all about the actors until they ended up in the tabloids years later.
Isn't that kinda the point of a movement like that? To let people who may be silent victims of something know that they're not alone, and break the stigma they may feel about speaking out about it?
But the inherent side effect of any social movement is that people use it to gain personal attention, by lying.
I remember after the True Grit remake came out, seeing a magazine cover in line at the grocery store. On the cover was Kim Darby, with a headline that read, "I'm still here!" The fact was that she had her time in the spot light and went nowhere after the lights dimmed. But because something of relevance was in the news, she popped back in from anonymity. People gender had forgotten about Ahmed Best. I know I did. So it seems like there's a possibility that he's trying to break out of his relative anonymity. This is his, "I'm still here!" moment.
Because the phrasing of your comment definitely seems to indicate a degree of doubt regarding his experience. Also, your follow up continues to support that read of it.
I don't doubt some people probably attacked him personally. I do doubt how extreme and widespread it was. I also have to wonder what else would have happened to push him to the brink of suicide. Does he suffer from mental health problems that have no correlation to his role as Jar Jar? Did the criticism he received exacerbate his existing mental health problems?
As someone who suffers from severe depression, anxiety and PTSD, I know that left untreated, those issues cen be a catalyst for suicide given the right motivation or influence.
Twenty years ago, he may have been driven to attempt suicide due to a variety of factors. That's terrible, I've been there. I've had the feeling that nothing I do will ever be good enough. So I believe that, to some extent his story is true. From a certain point of view. I also know how people with mental health issues will blow things way out of proportion. There are multiple sides to every story, most of which are unverifiable.
Why wait until now? Just like with so many of the rape accusations of the metoo movement, waiting for the statute of limitations has expired before speaking up seems disingenuous. It's not something I understand. As I have been victimized, the last thing I would want to do is wait until my attacker can avoid any and all legal repercussions before saying something. I won't drag politics into the thread, but there are some strong similarities. At least with Jones, she's been vocal about the backlash of GB16 since the initial reviews came back negatively. Whether she's correct that GB16 failed due to racist and sexist viewers or not isn't relevant. She's been outspoken since day one. I still don't think Kelly Marie Tran has made a public comment. Rose Tyco was a terrible character. I would have much rather see Paige survive because she was the stronger character. Star Wars is always about strong characters. Rose was weak in every aspect, which is why, to me, she failed as a Star Wars character.
As far as I know, Tran, Ridley, or any other actor or actress in the ST has not been bullied to the point of suicidal thoughts or actions. This is not to say Ahmed Bests experience is irrelevant, though. If he is coming out now with his story to show support, then kudos to him. If he's doing to in order to reclaim some relevance, then it's self serving. And at this point, I still can't tell what his intentions are.