'The Boys' star Erin Moriarty feels 'silenced' and 'dehumanised' over misogynistic trolling
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."
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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."
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).
"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."
The show's creator Eric Kripke also weighed in after Moriarty shared her feelings.
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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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