House of the Dragon actress Bethany Antonia exposes racist message she received in Instagram DMs: ‘Wait till they find out I’m gay too’
House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia posted a racist message she received via Instagram Stories on Saturday and seemed to blow off the nasty vitriol with humor.
The British actress, 26, posted a screenshot of a message that appeared to reference her role as Lady Baela Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series after previews for the series were released last month.
The message read: ‘N**** you look like a piece of shit. It’s a miracle you were included in the trailer. But we don’t care. I hope you accidentally die on set.”
Antonia, who appeared in eight episodes of the show’s second season, captioned the recording: “Wait until they find out I’m gay too” with a clown face emoji.
The actress, who has also appeared in shows including Netflix’s Stay Close and the BBC’s Get Even, appeared stunned by the disturbing message as she was seen smiling in a separate shot on her Instagram Stories.
House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia, 26, posted a racist message she received via Instagram Stories on Saturday and appeared to blow off the nasty vitriol with humor. Pictured in London in November 2022
Antonia captioned the shot: “Wait until they find out I’m gay too” with a clown face emoji
“Y’all won’t ruin this first spark of dragon joy for us niggers,” Antonia, who appeared on Hallmark’s Sense & Sensibility earlier this year as Marianne, captioned the shot.
TMZ noted that in the Game of Thrones universe, “Targaryens are traditionally shown as white with blonde hair” and that “the inclusion of black actors in these specific roles has received racist vitriol online.”
The show’s Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Velaryon, expressed similar sentiments about his casting for the series in an August 2022 article with Men’s health.
He said of critics of his casting: ‘They are happy with a flying dragon. They are happy with white hair and violet eyes, but a rich black man? That goes further than it turned out.’
The British actor, 59, said The Hollywood Reporter the month before, he underestimated the reaction when he was cast in the first prominent role for a person of color in the Game of Thrones universe.
“When I got the gig, I was literally like, ‘It’s just another role, because I have black friends who had small or recurring roles on ‘Game of Thrones,’” Toussaint told the outlet.
He added: “I didn’t realize it was a bigger problem until I was racially abused on social media when it was announced. Yes, that happened.’
Touissant said one person called him the N-word and others created art to mock his casting for the series.
The actress appeared stunned by the disturbing message as she was seen smiling in a separate shot on her Instagram Stories
Antonia stars as Lady Baela Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series. She shared a photo of herself on the set of the series on Instagram last month
Antonia appeared on Hallmark’s Sense & Sensibility earlier this year as Marianne opposite Deborah Ayorinde and Dan Jeannotte
Antonia, who appeared in eight episodes of the show’s second season, was photographed in London last year
The show’s Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Velaryon, expressed similar sentiments about his casting for the series two years ago. Pictured in London in August 2022
Over the weekend, some of Antonia’s 57,400 followers showed her love and support in the comment thread of her most recent post in response to the nasty message
Over the weekend, some of Antonia’s 57,400 followers showed their love and support in the comment thread of her most recent post in response to the nasty message.
One user said they “came here to counter the hate you get in your dms!!” and added, “I hope you’re doing well + that you’re the most beautiful.”
Another user said: ‘Sorry for the racist, despicable comments, a girl just here to tell you off [A Song of Ice and Fire] the fandom absolutely loves you and you are the perfect Baela Targaryen.”
One user said: ‘We love you Bethany!! you are incredible as Baela!! Don’t mind those racists. We already know how amazing and talented you are.”
One user said: ‘So who is here after that TikTok of someone being rude to this beautiful girl, sad, I hope they see these comments Frrrr.’