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'The Boys' star Erin Moriarty feels 'silenced' and 'dehumanised' over misogynistic trolling

The Boys S3. (Prime Video)
Erin Moriarty in The Boys. (Prime Video)

The Boys star Erin Moriarty has said she feels "silenced" and "dehumanised" over some of the sexist comments she gets from viewers.

The actor, 28, stars as Annie January/Starlight in the Amazon Prime Video superhero series.

She spoke out about being trolled after Instagram user @butcherscanary wrote an article about her, which was entitled: "#IStandWithStarlight?: The Betrayal of Erin Moriarty by The Boys Fans."

Read more: Amazon's The Boys 'more popular' than Marvel's Netflix shows

The article said: "As it turns out, you can dedicate an entire season of a television show to exploring how the toxicity of masculinity crushes and controls women, and seemingly a majority of the audience will still fail to employ the lessons learned – or worse, not have recognised there was a message at all."

The actor spoke out on Instagram. (Erin Moriarty Instagram)
The actor spoke out on Instagram. (Erin Moriarty Instagram)

Sharing a screengrab of the piece, Moriarty said: "I do feel silenced. I do feel dehumanised. I do feel paralysed.

"I’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into this role (over & over & over again), I’ve grown UP in this character’s shoes (*emphasis on grown up – we change & evolve mentally AND physically).

Antony Starr as Homelander and Erin Moriarty as Starlight in a promotional still for <i>The Boys</i> S2. (Amazon Prime Video)
Antony Starr as Homelander and Erin Moriarty as Starlight in a promotional still for The Boys. (Amazon Prime Video)

"So with that I say: a) thank you to @butcherscanary b) this does break my heart - I’ve opened up a vein for this role and misogynistic trolling is exactly what this role (Annie) would speak out against and c) everyone’s going through their own battle(s); let’s not add to that.

"I will never intentionally (and ESPECIALLY) publicly add to yours."

The star – whose character in the show is a superhero with light-based powers – went on: "This has only strengthened my empathy muscle and to anyone who comes at me: I see you, I don’t hate you, I only empathise and forgive."

Erin Moriarty (Annie January aka Starlight), Antony Starr (Homelander) in The Boys. (Amazon Prime Video)
Erin Moriarty has had some sexist comments. (Amazon Prime Video)

The show's creator Eric Kripke also weighed in after Moriarty shared her feelings.

Read more: Superhero series The Boys is one of Amazon's most successful shows ever

Addressing the trolls on Twitter, he wrote: "Hi trolls! One, this is literally the opposite of the show's f****** message. Two, you're causing pain to real people with real feelings. Be kind. If you can't be kind, then eat a bag of d****, f*** off to the sun & don't watch #TheBoys, we don't want you."

The Boys premiered in 2019 and follows a group of vigilantes as they combat superheroes misusing their powers.

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