Antony Starr Hit With Bullying Allegations, but the Evidence Is Sparse
Allegations have arisen against Antony Starr, and internet users have taken to comparing the actor to his The Boys character, Homelander. However, many of the allegations leveled against him have not been confirmed.
Starr is an actor best known for his role in The Boys, where he portrays the primary villain, Homelander. He depicts quite a vile character, as Homelander is a racist, sexist megalomaniac who falsely presents himself as America’s greatest hero. Starr is so convincing in the role that he has spoken out about people mistaking his real-life personality as Homelander’s. The latest comparisons to Homelander, though, aren’t just viewers blending reality and fiction, as the actor has been accused of liking a racist Instagram comment and exhibiting abusive behavior on The Boys set. Meanwhile, this isn’t Starr’s first controversy.
In 2022, Starr was arrested in Spain after allegedly assaulting a 21-year-old chef while intoxicated. The details of the incident remain murky, but the actor ultimately received a 12-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay a $5,464.97 fine for his actions. However, Starr acknowledged and appeared to take ownership of his actions. Given that he took accountability and it appeared to be a singular incident, many have forgotten about the assault. Now, though, further allegations of Starr’s behavior have arisen.
What are the abuse allegations against Antony Starr?
Allegations recently arose that Starr bullied Maeve actor Dominique McElligott so badly on the set of The Boys that it’s the reason she left after season 3. The allegations come from Vought HQ, a fan account that claims to post The Boys leaks. Recently, Vought HQ announced it had deactivated its main account due to disagreeing with what the show endorses, including allowing cast members to get away with “abusive behavior.”
On Instagram, the leaker confirmed that the post was referring to Starr, claiming he “relentlessly” bullied McElligott into leaving the show and to the point that she’d fly home frequently to get away from him.
Vought HQ also claimed another “former actor” on the show confirmed Starr’s bullying and that he acted inappropriately towards female guest stars. However, there are several major red flags about these allegations. The biggest red flag is that these allegations are not coming from McElligott herself. She has not made any allegations against Starr nor indicated he had anything to do with her departure from the show. The allegations cannot be confirmed unless she speaks out on the issue. On top of that, Vought HQ claims to have confirmation from a “former actor” but doesn’t name that actor.
There are also questions about Vought HQ’s legitimacy. As a self-described “leak” account, it often posts unconfirmed information about the show that doesn’t always turn out to be true. According to some Redditors, Starr may have even called out the account in the past for spreading false information, though this remains unconfirmed. Ultimately, the allegations remain unconfirmed until a proven source addresses them.
Did Starr like a racist social media comment?
However, the abuse allegations aren’t the only ones against Starr. Backlash arose after internet users circulated screenshots of an alleged racist comment that the actor liked on Instagram. Three days ago, Starr made an Instagram post about a recent meet-and-greet. One of the photos on the post showed a group of people cosplaying as A-Train, Starlight, Black Noir, and Queen Maeve.
One commenter singled out the woman dressed as Starlight, simply writing “Starlight” and a series of skull emojis. Usually, the skull emoji is used to express that someone is “dying” of laughter or amusement, meaning the commenter was mocking the woman for cosplaying as Starlight. Yet, a Twitter post shows that Starr “liked” the comment. A social media user explained why the comment was hurtful and that it’s very common for Black cosplayers to face mocking remarks like that, as well as others telling them they’re not allowed to cosplay. He also alleged that Starr liked even more openly racist comments, though screenshots were not provided.
Also, if one views his post on the Instagram app so they can see all the comments liked by Starr, they’ll see the he “liked” dozens of comments on that post. He may have simply been liking and replying to all of the earliest comments, as celebrities occasionally do to engage with fans. He even liked one that called the Starlight cosplayer’s glowing hands “genius,” as well as one that was solely skull emojis with no context.
To say the “like” was intentionally racist is a stretch, but it would be helpful for him to address the issue and clear up any misunderstanding, since it could be seen as him partaking in the mocking and harassment of the cosplayer.
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