Back in its heyday, Pirates of the Caribbean fandom was split into approximately three groups: the people who wanted Will/Elizabeth (Willabeth) to happen, the people who wanted Jack/Elizabeth (Sparrabeth) to happen, and the tiny group who completely stayed out of it and just watched the madness, usually complete with pointing and laughing. On one forum, these "debates" got to be so bad that the administrators completely shut down all "shipping debates", and had to relegate the respective shippers to their own discussion threads.
And it wasn't just that forum either... fans on a certain website's message board did it too. To extreme levels. There was a point where there was nothing on said forum but shipping "team" threads, and bashing of X character.
And when you add in the Ho Yay shippers, things just go nuts. Team Jack/Will and Team Sparrington are the major players here; the latter often aligned itself with Willabeth shippers, while the former just wanted Elizabeth to die horribly. Then there's Team Sparbossa, which started becoming more popular after Barbossa returned in a slightly less villainous role from the 3rd movie onwards...
Not even Pixar is safe anymore. Ever since Toy Story 3 came out and the amount of Buzz/Jessie shippers increased tenfold, shipping "debates" have sprang up. More extreme Woody/Jessie shippers defend their side till the end, some seemingly convinced that Pixar is intentionally toying with them (no Pun intended). Still, Buzz/Jessie shippers aren't innocent either, as some will jump on any Woody/Jessie piece and decry it non-canon. Then you bring Buzz/Woody into the mix...no wonder people like the idea of a Toy StoryOT3 so much.
Since its release, Frozen (2013) has sparked a rabid shipping fanbase, largely due to Elsa's status as Launcher of a Thousand Ships, the film's limited establishment of canon relationships, the popularity of crossover shipping and the integration of the film into the already chaotic Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons fandom, and the fact that the film's main cast is fairly small, and thusly, non-crossover ships tend to take on a controversial nature (ask any fan of Elsanna, Helsa or Hanna). As a result, the Frozen fandom is engaged in a brutal series of shipping wars, with the primary combatants being Kristanna (Kristoff/Anna), Jelsa (Jack Frost/Elsa), Elsamaren (Elsa/Honeymaren) and Elsanna (Elsa/Anna). Jelsa, Helsa, Elsamaren and Kristanna tend to be more popular with preteens and teenagers while Elsanna is popular with the Periphery Demographic of adults. There's been a bit of ship combat from people who are disgusted at Elsanna, dislike Jack Frost (or just Elsa with males or Crossover Shipping), can't sympathize with Hans (or can't understand how Elsa could love someone who tried to kill her and her sister), couldn't see how her interactions with Honeymaren is shipping material in the slightest or don't think Kristanna had enough proper development in the film to like.
Probably due to the very small cast, the Maleficent fandom is relatively peaceful - the most common ships are Maleficent/Diaval and Maleficent/Aurora, and they have a different target audience. There is also Aurora/Philipp, which gets along well with Maleficent/Diaval, and, an outlier, Diaval/Philipp, which again has a different target audience than all of the above. The most heated debates are about whether one should ship Maleficent with Aurora - some think it borders on incest as the characters were so close when Aurora was still a child, others say that that's just another excuse to Hide Your Lesbians. As all the shippable (i.e. not evil, non-human or very unimportant) characters are portrayed positively in the movie, there seems to be no debate as to whether people deserve each other - the worst accusation against Philipp is boringness, and in lesbian shipping he's usually allowed to hang around the main characters as best friend. Same with Diaval. And then, of course, there are those who ship all the main characters together..
Back in the heyday of Sky High (2005) fandom, the Will/Layla ("Lill") vs. Warren/Layla ("Wayla") fights could get heated. Will/Layla is the Official Couple, who are together at the end of the film, and Warren and Layla date only briefly and mostly to mess with Will's head, but many fans feel that they are the better-written couple. The Wayla side was the most directly vitriolic, subjecting Will to all manner of Ron the Death Eater treatment in fanfiction; the less extreme ones simply have he and Layla realize they liked each other less than they thought they did and break it off, but just as common were the ones that had his newfound fame go to his head and become a controlling if not abusive jerk who treats Layla like a prize. Lill fans didn't really bash Warren, who is agreed to be a good character by nearly all the fandom, and instead directed their rage at Gwen, whom Will dates for about half the film, portraying her as a ditzy, sexed-up Brainless Beauty. The fact that she turns out to be both extremely smart and generally not a nice person in the film itself rarely comes up.
In the very early days of the franchise, before the internet, fanzines and Fan Fiction were alight with Luke/Leia vs. Han/Leia (with Luke/Han performing respectably). The Reveal in Return of the Jedi permanently sunk Luke/Leia, leaving the princess and the scoundrel the One True Pairing of that Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Luke has got a borderline case even before Disney took over. No one liked Callista in Star Wars Legends, but there have been debates between Luke/Mara shippers and fans who think Mara wasn't right for him or that he shouldn't have married at all.
The first popular ship to emerge from The Force Awakens was Finn/Poe. Fans commented on the bromance between the two, praising their on-screen chemistry. This has mainly brought them at odds with those who think Finn would be better paired with Rey, and the two groups have gotten into many debates as to whether a same-sex or interracial couple would be more progressive on the big screen (expect homophobia and racism accusations between fans). Not long after the film was released, however, Finn's actor, John Boyega, issued a statement declaring Finn/Poe as strictly a bromance. This has not stopped fans from supporting the couple.
The other primary pairing to come out of The Force Awakens was Finn/Rey, a pairing that was teased throughout the film with their mutual rescues of each other, Finn asking if she has a cute boyfriend, their mutual desire to stay together, Finn coming back for Rey like she wished her family would, their emotion-fill hug, and Rey's vow to return to Finn before kissing him on the forehead. As of The Last Jedi, Finn/Rey shippers point to Finn waking up from his coma calling out for Rey, Rey trying to get ahold of the Resistance to check on Finn, Finn holding the beacon (along with Leia) that would lead Rey home, Rey telling Chewie to pass on a significant message to Finn that the audience isn't privy to yet, and an emotional reunion hug, as reasons for why Finn and Rey will be considered canon. In the final movie, Finn keeps insisting that he has something important he needs to tell Rey. Some think that he's telling her he's Force-sensitive. Yeah, right. Many of their fans interpret Rey seeing Finn and Rose together as being jealous and hope for a love triangle between the two. The topic of racism is touchy with the shippers—while there is a Vocal Minority who genuinely don't ship it for racist reasons, most who don't just prefer other ships. Meanwhile, there's a portion of Finn/Rey fans who accuses anyone who doesn't ship it of racism and even throws unwarranted abuse accusations and insults.
More popularnote this AMV had over a million views at the time of this posting, one month after its creation is Kylo Ren/Rey. The pairing became favoured after viewers were intrigued by the characters' on-screen sexual chemistry and intense interactions—even Time magazine's review of the film commented on it. However, the ship has gained its share of disapproval, mainly from Finn/Rey fans who allege that the relationship is abusive or unhealthy. The hostility between Reylo shippers and anti-Reylo shippers reached galactic levels after The Rise of Skywalker had them kiss after Kylo completes a Heel–Face Turn and saves Rey's life. Even though this is immediately followed by Kylo dying and Rey ends the film single, fans took this as Reylo becoming canon and pretty much every non-Reylo fan erupted in outrage, doubling down on accusations of Reylo being a toxic pairing that endorses unhealthy relationships in real life. The most militant anti-Reylos have gone as far as to claim that Reylo was made canon over Finn/Rey solely because Disney was too cowardly to make an interracial ship canon and that Reylo shippers are racist for not shipping Finn/Rey or Finn/Poe instead. All of this anti-Reylo backlash has naturally caused Reylo fans to hit back, with the most rabid ones sending death threats to John Boyega for speaking out against the pairing and the more moderate ones arguing that they shouldn't be treated as scum by others just for daring to like two fictional characters together. This entire Reylo vs. anti-Reylo feud has gotten so bad that merely mentioning Reylo, regardless of your actual thoughts on it, is a one-way ticket to a Flame War on many social media sites.
Add Kylo Ren/Hux into the equation and the mess gets even bigger with their shippers coming up against Finn/Poe and Kylo/Rey shippers. If you're wondering why Finn/Poe shippers would feel threatened by a pairing that doesn't even conflict with theirs, it's because Finn/Poe was overtaken in popularity by Kylo/Hux as the most-written-for slash pairing on some sites like Archive of Our Own and some Finn/Poe fans resent this, viewing a pairing of two white men who don't get much screen time together getting more fan attention than a pairing of two non-white men who got more interaction in canon as proof of racism, intentional or unintentional, in the Star Wars fandom.
Finn/Rose becoming canon as of The Last Jedi added fuel to the fire. Once The Last Jedi was released, some particularly toxic Finn/Rey shippers claimed that the Vietnamese Rose is a "downgrade" compared to the white Rey as a love interest for Finn. The fact that Finn/Rose and Rey/Kylo shippers tend to be Ship Mates also increases the tensions between Finn/Rose and/or Rey/Kylo shippers and those who ship other pairings. This died down after Rose was Demoted to Extra in The Rise of Skywalker and supplemental materials confirmed that she and Finn broke up off-screen, with Finn/Rey shippers turning their attention to warring with Kylo/Rey shippers instead.
Non-Disney Films
The Star Trek (2009) fandom is split between Spock/Uhura, the Official Couple, and Kirk/Spock, the grandaddy of all slash pairings. Some of the fighting has gotten very nasty, resulting in some very homophobic remarks from Spuhura shippers and accusations of Abrams "pandering to middle America" from Spirkers, as well as some racially-tinged Ron the Death Eater directed at Uhura.
Happens in-universe in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), which provides the page quote, with Donatello and Casey Jones arguing about Gilligan's Island. Casey thinks the Professor and Mary Ann are the better couple while Don prefers Gilligan and Mary Ann.
did it too. To extreme levels. There was a point where there was nothing on said forum but shipping "team" threads, and bashing of X character.
"downgrade" compared to the white Rey as a love interest for Finn. The fact that Finn/Rose and Rey/Kylo shippers tend to be Ship Mates also increases the tensions between Finn/Rose and/or Rey/Kylo shippers and those who ship other pairings. This died down after Rose was Demoted to Extra in The Rise of Skywalker and supplemental materials confirmed that she and Finn broke up off-screen, with Finn/Rey shippers turning their attention to warring with Kylo/Rey shippers instead.