The Boys star Erin Moriarty has responded to internet trolls after receiving a flurry of nasty comments.
Moriarty, who plays Starlight on the Prime Video series, was previously forced to take an “extensive if not permanent” break from social media after being harassed over “reductive assumptions” about her appearance.
The actor called out American journalist Megyn Kelly for questioning whether she’d had plastic surgery, dubbing her comments “counterproductive to the degree of being ironically misogynistic”.
Ever since, Moriarty, who thanked her fans for their support, has found herself the source of particular attention from online trolls flooding her posts with remarks about her appearance.
Days after the release of an instalment of The Boys branded one of the most “obscene” episodes in TV history, Moriarty took matters into her own hands when sharing her latest Instagram post.
It showed off a double-page spread from a new interview with Moriarty by Genlux magazine.
“Haters will say {literally everything and anything that pops into their head}. So post it & ghost it. (And sleep tight),” Moriarty captioned the photo, before turning off comments.
In an episode of her podcast on 17 January, Kelly accused Moriarty of being an example of an “addiction” to appearance-enhancing surgeries, calling them a “social illness”.
Moriarty, whose other credits include The Kings of Summer and Captain Fantastic, said she was “horrified” after hearing the comments, writing: “We’re all subject to levels of bullying throughout our lives but I am horrified, and I felt that I deserved to take a second to address these things.
“To receive a message about a disgustingly false, counterproductive to the degree of being ironically misogynistic video of Megyn Kelly commenting on the manner– to learn the widespread nature of this has left me horrified.”
Moriarty’s co-stars in The Boys supported the actor, with Jack Quaid, who plays Hughie, writing: “Love you, Erin. F*** the haters.”
Meanwhile, former Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, who stars as superhero The Deep, posted a red heart in response.