Where do all of these racists come from, and why do they insist on making actors so uncomfortable that they completely withdraw from social media? This is the second time something like this has happened this year, this time to Anna Diop, slated to star as Starfire in the upcoming show, 'Titans'.
Some facts to set the scene here: Starfire is an alien. She is often depicted as having golden or yellow-ish skin, not as a white woman.
Starfire.Photo via DC Comics
So when Anna Diop was cast, it seemed like a perfect way to allow for a modicum of representation in the DC Universe, which has been struggling intensely to pull its own weight in the superhero movie craze. Wonder Woman, which starred Israeli actress Gal Godot seemed like a good way to start.
But some fans of the Universe, who have decided Starfire was somehow white, though an alien with golden skin, targeted Diop intensely via her Instagram and Twitter, dropping comments such as:
Instagram
When these attacks started back in April, ComicBook.com quoted Diop addressing them directly.
"I do want to use this as an opportunity to say that tearing people down is not something that I tolerate. For myself or anyone else."
"Too often social media is abused by some who find refuge in the anonymity and detachment it provides: misused as a tool to harass, abuse, and spew hatred at others. This is weak, sad, and a direct reflection of the abuser. Racist, derogatory, and/or cruel comments have nothing to do with the person on the receiving end of that abuse. And because I know this - I'm unfazed. But for anyone out there who may not - I am here to remind you that whatever ugly and negative thing anyone ever choose to say about you is always a reflection and revelation of themselves - it does NOT define you, and it certainly does NOT make you any less perfect than you are."
Earlier this year, 'Star Wars' star Kelly Marie Tran, who portrayed Rose Tico, a possible love interest for the ex-Stormtrooper Finn, deleted her Instagram after continuous harassment from fans of the franchise. Toxic Fandom is invading the safety of our performers, and if we want these films to keep being made, we must take responsibility.
Representation matters, and it need to start feuling acceptance, not hate.
H/T: Comicbook.com, The Root
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