‘House of the Dragon’ star Bethany Antonia slams racist trolls harassing her on social media and comes out as gay.
Antonia, who will play the role of Princess Baela Targaryen in the second season of the Game of Thrones spin-off, received backlash and racist attacks. In the Game of Thrones universe, Targaryens are traditionally depicted as white and with blonde hair. The inclusion of black actors in the fictional family received backlash from some fans, and the announcement of the second season and the release of its trailer re-sparked this backlash.
One of these messages, which she posted on her Instagram story on April 20, read: “N****, you look like a piece of sh*t. It’s a miracle they even included you in the trailer. But we don’t care. I hope you accidentally die on set.”
She responded with a caption, “Wait till they find out I’m gay too” with a clown face emoji.
Antonia, who also starred in the 2024 film ‘Sense & Sensibility’, appeared in two episodes of the first season and will appear in another eight in the coming second season.
This appears to be the first time that Antonia spoke about and disclosed her sexuality. Since then, she has received support and love, even from fans of the upcoming fantasy series.
On Twitter, Westerosies, one of the biggest news and content fan-source for ‘Game of Thrones’ condemned the attacks on Antonia, describing it as “completely unacceptable.’
“We stand in solidarity with the cast and crew, and affirm that anyone participating in such harassment will be swiftly blocked from our platform,” they said.