When we say that “life imitates art”, this is definitely not the kind of situation that we have in mind. If you watch Prime Video’s The Boys, you know that superhero Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is one of the characters that has it worst in the series: Led to believe that superheroes are holy people doing God’s work on Earth, she gets a reality check when her “welcome” party into The Seven (a Justice League-like superhero group) is sexual abuse. The situation doesn’t get better for Starlight, who is a constant target of misogyny across the series’ run.The problem is, some “fans” of The Boys apparently didn't understand the message that Starlight’s arc sends to viewers. Ever since the show debuted and especially across Season 3, Moriarty has been the target of online attacks that – believe it or not – are mostly aimed at her appearance and how she doesn’t live up to male fans’ expectations of what Starlight should be in the story – the character became a “traitor” by the end of Season 3.After reading an article written by an Instagram user named “butcherscanary”, Moriarty felt prompted to share how she feels when having to deal with this kind of behavior and, of course, it’s not good. The actor reminded everyone that this is the type of behavior that her character Starlight would stand up against. She wrote:
“I do feel dehumanized. I do feel paralyzed. 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. This has only strengthened my empathy muscle and to anyone who comes at me: I see you, I don’t hate you, I only empathize and forgive.”
Moriarty’s post was supported by fellow cast members Anthony Starr and Jack Quaid, who had kind words to say. However, series creator Eric Kripke displayed some Butcher-like lack of patience and took to Twitter to remind Starlight/Moriarty haters that “this is literally the opposite of the show’s fucking message.” He ended the tweet by telling these so-called fans to quite simply “eat a bag of dicks” and “fuck off”.
The Boys is based on a comic book series by authors Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. It premiered on Prime Video in 2019, and ever since then, it has pushed the storytelling boundaries when it comes to sex and violence. The series is not only a satire of how superheroes inevitably develop a god complex but also a piercing critique of modern society and how corporations deflate serious societal issues – like misogyny.
Prime Video has already renewed The Boys for Season 4, and production is already underway. A spin-off series, titled Gen V, is also set to come to our screens soon.
You can check out Kripke's tweet and Moriarty's Instagram post below: