The Boys actress Valorie Curry left "deeply uncomfortable" by NI experience
An American actress has told fans to respect her "boundaries" after an appearance at a 'Comic-Con' event in Lisburn.
Valorie Curry, who plays the character 'Firecracker' in the hit Amazon Prime TV series The Boys, said she was made to feel "deeply uncomfortable" by an experience at the Eikon Centre event in Co Antrim.
The actress said that while her character had done "some pretty extreme things" on the hit TV series, it's "not okay and it's not funny to demand those things from me in person".
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She referenced two people in particular who had become "angry" when she wouldn't comply with their requests.
Her character in The Boys is a right wing, American YouTuber who propagates outlandish conspiracy theories and is shown in the show promising sexual favours to the villain Homelander.
In a video message posted on her Instagram account, a visibly upset Valorie Curry said: "I just got back from the first day of Comic-Con in Northern Ireland, in Belfast and by-and-large everyone was fantastic. I've only just started doing these conventions on my own and everyone, for the most part, has been so lovely and so kind and so respectful - it's really been wonderful.
"But we do need to talk about boundaries and what is appropriate in terms of behaviour."
She continued: "I know people saw a character that I play do some pretty extreme things on The Boys. I don't care if you're in costume, I don't care if you are in character. It's not okay and it's not funny to demand those things from me in person at my booth. It's not okay."
She added: “Frankly, to the person who did that repeatedly today, I made it pretty clear that it wasn't OK and that only seemed to make this person and their friend angry. I didn't think this needed to be explained but I was deeply uncomfortable – it was quite clear I was uncomfortable.”
The actress, who has also starred in Veronica Mars, The Following, House of Lies, The Tick and The Lost Symbol, said that while she enjoys meeting fans and discussing the characters she plays she is "not going to be able to do this if people are acting this way because it makes me so uncomfortable".
She added: "Honestly, you should know better. Everybody else knows better. I don't know what reaction you were looking for. Nobody was laughing."
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