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Supergirl Star Millie Alcock interviewed Vanity gallery At first glance, the actress played things so safe that one feels for the interviewer.
Take this quote from Alcock about her character in the upcoming DC Studios release: “She’s not trying to save the world — she’s just trying to save her world. This movie is an excellent reminder that the world can fall apart around you, but you can be the hero of your own story” — which sounds like a studio PR talking point coined by ChatGPT.
Or the way she handled being asked if she’d spoken to other actresses who have played Supergirl, like Melissa Benoist and Sasha Calle. Alcock said she didn’t do it because “they’re just people living their lives. It’s not like we have this blood connection.” Brilliant handling.
Then came this exchange. asked the previous interviewer Dragon House star: He has a famous fickleness game of thrones Did the fandom prepare Alcock for the backlash she would face? Alcock replied, “It definitely made me realize that just existing as a woman in this space is something people comment on. We’ve become so comfortable with having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself.”
Her statement seems indisputable. Alcock was a 21-year-old playing a teenager in the first season of the HBO fantasy drama. Fans made all kinds of (sometimes rude) comments about her (as they did about Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner in the original film) game of thrones). If anything, Alcock seems kind of zen and disengaged about it.
But the response to Alcock in many corners of the internet was as if the actress had launched into a hard-hitting feminist tirade in which she slammed all male fans and threw herself a massive pity party. Sample: “Alcock indicated to everyone that this movie was going to be rubbish… If anyone had any doubts, she dispelled them” and “Your movie hasn’t come out yet and you’re already a victim of nothing happening to you, shut up” and “They know their movie is going to be bad, we know they’ll blame the men like always” and “It’s Rachel Ziegler ing.” [the] “Film” and – in response to a tweet imploring fans to stop making fun of Alcock’s appearance – “She’s facing ridicule for pre-emptively attacking fans… She deserves [the bullying]She deserves much more than what is coming.
It’s all so ridiculous that it seems too obvious to point out how ridiculous it is: Alcock says women in fictional franchise IPs get backlash and rude comments about their appearance and the result is backlash and rude comments about her appearance.
One complaint some fans have is that when a project doesn’t pan out and has a female or black lead — especially titles made by Disney — the creative execs suggest that the fans were too sexist or racist to appreciate their efforts. But Alcock never suggested that Supergirl She’ll get backlash, only that she expects to be personally objectified and trolled (which is… she).
Others believe that some icons of the feminist movement of the past enjoyed universal acceptance, such as Sigourney Weaver in… Aliens And Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. But it’s easy to cite legendary shows from decades ago and say: Look how much we accept. It is true that the quality Supergirl Alcock’s performance will define his legacy more than anything else. But Alcock was mainly talking about the negative side of her experience Dragon House – Where her performance and the first season He was She’s received plaudits, but she still endures a lot of trolling.
Attempts there to cluster in Alcock snow white Superstar Ziggler and kicked him out Screaming Franchise star Melissa Barrera is interesting because she speaks to something broader: Young women in franchise roles tend to receive high-volume “STFU” backlash.
This is not to defend Barrera or Ziggler’s controversial comments. Their statements were newsworthy and tactically unwise. The same goes for Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, whose comments about her Netflix hit book sparked controversy while promoting the first season.
It’s about proportion: the level of vitriol that seems to accompany young actresses who don’t exactly say the “right” thing, and how that backlash is often weaponized alongside criticism of their appearance. Another guy doing a fantasy franchise, The last of us Star Bella Ramsay managed not to say anything particularly controversial, yet still received a level of cyberbullying during last year’s second season that was downright ugly (one might say they were mocked for “simply existing”).
This isn’t an argument that “right-wing fans are all toxic” either. Although she’s not the star of a fantasy film series, the actress most bashed last year was Sydney Sweeney for supposedly being conservative, with her insisting she’s “not a political person” and trying to avoid saying anything controversial at all. Some on the left even called Sweeney a Nazi for appearing in a mysterious jeans ad (“MAGA Barbie” reads USA Today the address). Did her appearance play a role in this? naturally. Did Chris Pratt – who also seems to lean vaguely conservative – receive the level of nuclear setback that Sweeney did? never.
It’s a circular trap: Studios want their young stars to be popular on social media and seem relatable and real. But you can’t be popular, relevant, original, and also boring. But in order not to be boring, you have to say or do interesting things that will not please everyone. But if you say or do things that not everyone likes, you will get backlash from… somewhere. And if you’re a young woman — especially one who navigates comedy or fantasy franchise IPs — the backlash is likely to be high. (Heaven help you if you’re a feminist or remotely political, in either direction, and express that.)
And the idea of a young actress giving dozens of interviews to promote a project and also interacting with fans on social media would say one thing that might spark outrage? This is not only possible, but inevitable. How boring do we want our stars to be?
This doesn’t mean that young male actors get a free pass and never pounce – Timothée Chalamet’s epic operas and ballets come to mind. But for the young actresses in franchise films, they can have superpowers and daring spunk on screen, while in real life, the message seems to be: You better act perfect, look perfect, STFU.
Supergirl It will be released in theaters on June 26. Below is the latest trailer:
