After a behind-the-scenes photo of Grant in his new super-suit leaked out to the public, fans eviscerated his new Flash suit and then proceeded to rip apart his body image.
As a result of the backlash, huge news outlets picked up the story, such as ABC News, CNN, and People Magazine. Tons of support poured from every end to not only highlight the double standard in the body shaming of men and women but to also applaud Gustin’s strength in the face of it.
Like news outlets should, they covered an injustice and highlighted the issues that create and stem from this injustice.
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However, an injustice that has gone on for almost a decade that has yet to be recognized stems from the hate and vitriol commonly thrown at actresses that don’t receive nearly the same amount of coverage.
Since we’ve gotten the chance to read about the horrible injustice of body shaming men for things we praise women for let’s also identify a running list of actresses who have been attacked by fans for various “reasons” from race to shipping wars.
Gal Gadot (Diana Prince – Wonder Woman)
Comic fans attacked Gal Gadot before she became Wonder Woman because she was too thin, her boobs weren’t big enough, etc.And when she silenced all the nay-sayers after Wonder Woman released, they decided to find other reasons to attack her due to her religion, past jobs, etc. But just like in the gif above, Gadot always smiles through it all.
Anna Diop (Starfire – Titans)
An anomaly amongst the women on this list, Anna Diop actually did receive some coverage for the way comic fans attacked her for her casting as Starfire in the new show Titans. It’s hard for news outlets, even the small ones, to ignore the pure ignorance behind fans being angry that a black woman was cast as a … wait for it… orange alien.
January Jones (Betty Draper – Mad Men)
January Jones was the victim of an obscene amount of hatred as the leading lady, Betty Draper, of Mad Men because she was a nuanced character that didn’t take too kindly to her husband lying to her for their whole marriage. I know. What a monster of a character, am I right?
Meghan Ory (Red Riding Hood – Once Upon A Time)
Meghan Ory, the actress who played Red Riding Hood, also received a lot of hate for her character. In fact, she got so much hate, she ended up leaving Twitter to get away from the angry OUAT fans.
Pearl Mackie (Bill Potts – Doctor Who)
The new female Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker, isn’t the only actress from this show who received hate.Pearl Mackie also received hate for her role due to her race and the fact that she was an LGBTQ+ character. I guess the fans of this show don’t really like much diversity… well, any diversity honestly.
Emily Vancamp (Sharon Carter – Captain America Franchise)
Although her screen time in the MCU has been relatively low that has not stopped fans from attacking Emily Vancamp. Apparently, some fans who want Captain America and Bucky to together take it upon themselves to bully Captain America’s actual love interest, Sharon Carter, because it’s common for writers and directors to change aspects like these in movies due to fans bullying the actors (sarcasm).
Nicole Beharie ( Abbie Mills – Sleepy Hollow)
Oddly, Nicole Beharie received hate from fans who did not agree with her opinionated and nuanced personality, and from the writers of her own show. Not in the writing itself… nope. The character was actually written pretty well to be a strong, persistent and smart lead (which angered some fans as said above). When she left the show to expand her career, the writers on the show were seen to talk badly about her new show and her. This fact absolutely blew my mind.
Katie Cassidy (Dinah Laurel Lance/Black Canary – Arrow)
Katie Cassidy uniquely makes this list because she’s one of three actresses included that got fridged in her role and received hatred from fans. She plays the Black Canary, a canonically very dominant character in the DCEU. However, after season 3, she didn’t receive much of a story due to her shifted role from a love interest to an independent character whose story did not revolve around romance. This left her open to being one of the only adaptations of Black Canary that has been fridged, firstly, and it left her open to the vitriol of the new lead love interest’s fans to attack her for being a constant threat to their ship.
Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie – Thor: Ragnarok)
Tessa Thompson received hate for no reason other than the color of her skin. Since the Valkyrie in the comics is white, the fans feel like the actress just won’t receive the justice she deserves if she’s black. Even with this incredibly sound logic that skin color dictates acting ability, Tessa Thompson did absolutely amazing in her role.
Alicia Vikander (Lara Croft – Tomb Raider)
Similar to Grant Gustin, Alicia Vikander got a lot of hate due to her body’s natural thinness. The people who bullied her online felt like an actress can’t play Lara Croft unless she has bountiful breasts. Vikander hit the gym, got incredibly fit, and proved them all wrong.
Vanessa Morgan (Toni Topaz – Riverdale)
Another recipient of hatred formed from”shipping” wars, Vanessa Morgan got a lot of hate from people who felt like her character was getting a bit too close the character Jug Head who is apparently destined for Betty. It turns out, all the vitriol and anger turned out to be pointless since the actress’s character Toni ended up dating Cheryl.
Candice Patton (Iris West – The Flash)
Candice Patton is another black actress who receives hate for nothing other than her skin. The character, Iris West, she reprises is usually white, and although that has no bearing on her character, many fans cannot stand seeing a black woman play the iconic character. However, Patton has done so well in this role and has truly made it her own, the DCEU has been moving forward with other Iris Wests of color (played by other actresses that ALSO made this list — shocker!).
Anna Gunn (Skyler White – Breaking Bad)
Anna Gunn received hate for her character for the same reasons January Jones did. It seems only men characters are allowed to be nuanced, and their wives are not allowed to question their decisions even when it could (and usually does) rip their lives completely apart.
Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones – Doctor Who)
Another actress from Doctor Who receives hate because… drum roll please… she’s black! It seems like this is a common occurrence for actresses of color, especially those in niche genres like fantasy and sci-fi.
Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso – Star Wars Franchise)
On the same wave of Sci-Fi and Fantasy actresses receiving hate, Felicity Jones also got hate for her role in the Star Wars franchise… literally. It’s not that her role was canonically a different race or people didn’t agree with her individuality as a character. Some fans just simply didn’t like that another Star Wars film was led by a female. It’s 2018, and fans are upset women can be leads in movies too.
Kat Graham (Bonnie Bennett – The Vampire Diaries)
Kat Graham also received hate for the reason that keeps popping up: ship wars. Although the actors, Kat Graham and Ian Somerhalder, actually wanted the relationship, Bamon, from the books. Many fans did not share that interest. She’s also unique in the fact that she’s the second of the three women on this list whose characters were also abused by the writers of the show. Like Katie Cassidy, Graham’s character got fridged on the show and then got attacked by the fans.
Katia Winter (Katrina Crane – Sleepy Hollow)
The third woman who makes the list of being poorly written and receiving hate by the fans that may or may not be related is Katia Winter. Her character was pigeon-holed into mostly doing horrible things, and because of this, fans usually attacked her for it. She was also attacked by shippers who didn’t want her to get in the way of their Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane.
Ruby Rose (Kate Kane – Batwoman)
Ruby Rose wasn’t even filming yet before she received a lot of attacks. It all started after it was revealed she was cast as Batwoman (Batman’s cousin — NOT his wife). And many comic fans did not take kindly to the fact that she wasn’t Jewish in real life even though the character she’s playing is Jewish. Yes, you read that right. Fans are upset because they feel like you should only play roles that match your religion… because of… reasons.
Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow – The Flash)
Another actress from The Flash, Danielle Panabaker also receives constant hate from The Flash fans. Most of the hate is due to wild assumptions and shipping wars. In Season 1, The Flash teased that Caitlin and Barry could have been an interim couple before Barry finally ended up with his true love Iris, and many fans still haven’t gotten over it.
Kiersey Clemons (Iris West – The Flash (DCEU))
Kiersey Clemons is the second Iris West to receive hate because she’s black in a canonically white role. Candice Patton opened the door, and Clemons’s acting skills cinched it right behind her. There’s no doubt in my mind she will also be phenomenal as Iris West.
Letitia Wright (Shuri – Black Panther)
A lot of comic fans saw the hate for Letitia Wright coming the moment the MCU hinted that she may be the smartest character in the MCU. The bullying started there and simply heightened when it was confirmed that, in fact, she is the smartest person in the MCU, and Marvel plans to run with it in her own comic book series. When Wright then used her influence to bring to light the importance of many women and POC getting a fair chance in the STEM field, this caused a lot of the fans to go into a rage. However, I can’t quite put my finger on the issue with that. Maybe you guys have some ideas?
