The Boys star Erin Moriarty opened up about how the plastic surgery accusations are getting out of hand after Megyn Kelly's "disgustingly false" claims.
"This is something I truly never anticipated writing," the actress, 29, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, January 26. "We're all subject to levels of bullying throughout our lives but I am horrified, and I felt that I deserved to take a second to address these things. I had no idea what was going on, to be honest, because I've had one of the most challenging weeks of my life."
Moriarty — who plays Starlight/Annie on Prime Video's dark superhero series The Boys — has been the subject of much social media speculation over recent weeks with plastic surgery speculation. The actress had posted some photos after some recent weight loss where she was clearly in full glam with strong contour and overlined lips — a departure from some of her more natural makeup looks. She said she expected the usual social media trolls to make their comments and move on.
"I specifically thought that as I emerge this period of time — so stressed that I BARELY been able to eat and sleep," Moriarty explained. "I thought ok, I'm going to emerge this 10 pounds thinner and the verbal abuse/accusations will be flying — usually either drug use or just a flippant 'eat a burger' comment. You learn to become Teflon and move on. I had NO idea what was going on this time."
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The criticism of her looks took a much larger spotlight when Moriarty was used as an example of alleged extreme plastic surgery on Sirius XM's The Megyn Kelly Show. She was shocked to see the January 17 segment. "To receive a message about a disgustingly false, counterproductive to the degree of being ironically misogynistic video of Megyn Kelly commenting on the manner — to learn the widespread nature of this has left me horrified," Moriarty shared.
Kelly, 53, displayed what she called a "relatively recent" photo of Moriarty, claiming the photo was taken within the last year, and called her "a nice, beautiful, natural gal." Then, she showed a more recent photo that she claimed was shocking, alleging she had "Kim Kardashian lips," had altered her nose and cheeks.
"Look, I'm not against plastic surgery," Kelly said. "This is something else. This is like a mental disorder. This is extreme. When you start off incredibly beautiful and you end up like a plastic Barbie version of a Kardashian."
Moriarty noted the first photo shown wasn't taken within the last year. "Megyn used a photo taken 'a year ago' according to her, that had in actuality been taken about a decade ago, before I was of LEGAL DRINKING AGE (I'm about to turn 30) as an example (maybe do some research that would take 30 seconds)," she said in her Instagram statement. "How utterly misinformed, inaccurate, and clickbait seeing people who we follow and consider to be informed is appalling.”
The photo in question appeared to be from the June 2016 Captain Fantastic premiere in Los Angeles. Moriarty had turned 22 just a few days prior. (It's possible that Moriarty is confusing the premiere with when the movie was in production. She filmed her scenes in 2014 when she was 19 and 20.)
Moriarty went on to address the selfie she posted earlier this month that Kelly used for comparison (which has since been deleted from her social media). “I got my make up done that day and it involves major contouring and I remember leaving and feeling really pretty," the actress said. "And even that day was an immensely stressful day for me. I came running to those girls, and I showed up in tears after what had happened that day, and I left feeling better simply because I felt like they had reduced my lack of sleep and worked their magic wands."
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Her confidence was short-lived. "I saw the comments, scathing enough to just turn my comments off," she continued. "But this is becoming harassment. This is becoming false news."
Moriarty announced that she will leave Instagram, deleting all but a handful of posts. She'll keep her account active so people can see her statement but "otherwise, consider it deactivated." She added that this isn't just because of Kelly, but the video seems to have been last straw for Moriarty.
"I an horrified by the reaction, the reductive assumptions, and the aforementioned video that is a primary example of such harassment," she said. "It's broken my heart. You've broken my heart. You've lost the privilege of this account. ... The way that this has been spoken about, the way that I have been spoken to, I will not accept. I have been in a hole and I've been consumed by this personal situation at hand," Moriarty explained. "You never know what someone is going through, social media is a platform that is not representative of a whole person, and [sic] irregardless, there is no excuse for the words that have been spoken directly to me or about me. Shame on you, Megyn Kelly."
She concluded with one final dig at Kelly, "Implying that my photo is reflective of women being in a worse place is as false as my conviction in saying that if you resigned, you would be leaving women in a better place."
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Moriarty's makeup artist, Makeup by Nelly, supported her in the comment section. "I love you Erin! You look beautiful with and without makeup on. I am the contour QUEEEEEN I guess because we made headlines bb🤍," Nelly wrote. "It's 2024 ladies and gents we must know what makeup can do nowadays. It shouldn’t be rocket science to figure that out. Stay strong and positive."
The cast and crew of The Boys also showed their support. Chace Crawford (who plays The Deep) left a red heart emoji while Jack Quaid (who portrays Hughie) commented, "Love you, Erin. F--k the haters."
Showrunner Eric Kripke added, "Love you. Seriously they can f--k off. Beyond the cruelty, it's just patently false. Be kind, people."
