The Boys star Erin Moriarty, who plays Starlight in the hit series, fires back against the toxic "fans" that belittle her online. Prime Video's superhero satire The Boys is based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book of the same name and has been one of television's most discussed works of the last few years, with season 3 being no exception. After defeating Stormfront, the Boys work with Congresswoman Victoria Neuman to take down problematic Supes as Starlight becomes co-captain of the Seven - and unwillingly "dates" Homelander to drum up public support for the controversial hero.
Even after overcoming rampant misogyny, sexual assault, and Vought's blatant attempts at oversexualizing her in seasons 1 and 2, Annie January, a.k.a. Starlight, remains under the corporation's thumb in a supposedly empowered role. Vought's crack team of marketers continually exploits her moral nature to fix their reputation, until the events of "Herogasm" cause Annie to quit the Seven on a livestream and out Vought, Homelander, and Soldier Boy. Finally, Starlight escapes the highly commercialized superhero business and becomes the symbol of righteousness that she always wanted to be.
Unfortunately, The Boys is not the only medium to accurately reflect Starlight's struggles as a woman and public figure. Moriarty has also dealt with her fair share of misogyny online, and she addresses the toxic fandom she has experienced in a new Instagram post. Her comment responds to an article titled "#IStandWithStarlight?: The betrayal of Erin Moriarty by The Boys 'fans'" by author @butcherscanary and voices her distress with the trolls and hateful people that constantly antagonize her. Check out a screenshot of the post below:
Like Starlight's lifelong exploitation in the public eye, Moriarty is referring to comments made on social media about her appearance, particularly in season 3. From people calling her ugly to others assuming she had lost weight or undergone plastic surgery, some The Boys viewers appear to care less about the actual show and more about Moriarty's seemingly altered look. The actor is, therefore, understandably upset about the unnecessary discourse concerning her body and calls for users to stop contributing to the same issues that Annie would fight against in the show.
Seeing the wave of support in Moriarty's comment section, including kind messages from costars Jack Quaid and Antony Starr, is undoubtedly satisfying for fans who value The Boys' stellar content over an actor's potentially different appearance. While it is a shame that Moriarty must channel Starlight's moral goodness and feminism to oppose such distasteful commentary in real life, her Instagram post proves that she and the character she plays are not all that different. And like Starlight's public admonishment of her abusers, perhaps Moriarty's stance will help show members of The Boys community that she is not just a public figure open for criticism, but a human being who does not deserve to experience misogyny and toxicity.
Source: Erin Moriarty/Instagram