On Saturday, House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia posted a racist message she recieved on her Instagram story and, while reminding us she's "gay too."
Antonia plays Princess Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon, which explores the reign of the House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war many years before the events of Game of Thrones. In the GOT universe, Targaryens have traditionally been depicted as white with blonde hair, and the inclusion of Black actors in these particular roles has received some racist trolling online. The racist message Antonia received was another instance of backlash against the diverse casting backlash. This time, it was re-sparked by the latest trailer, with the cast teasing who will take the throne on House of the Dragon this season.
Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO
The message posted to Antonia's IG story read: "N****, you look like a piece of s***. It's a miracle they even included you in the trailer. But we don't care. I hope you accidentally die on set."
Antonia, who appeared in two episodes in season one and will appear in eight episodes of the show's second season, captioned her response on her IG story, 'Wait till they find out I'm gay too' with an emoji of a clown's face. In addition, the UK actress posted a second story smiling and enjoying her life, adding a caption that read: "Y'all won't ruin this first glimmer of dragon joy for us negroes.'
Over the weekend, several of Antonia's 57.6K followers showed her love and support in the comment thread of her most recent post in response to the nasty message.
One user commented, along with a white heart emoji, "You're the most perfect baela there could EVER be!!!"
Another fan said they "can't wait to see you in House of the Dragon again!!!!!"
While another fan reassured Antonia, stating, "We love you, Bethany! I'm sorry for the DMs you've gotten but you are so beautiful and talented and that person is just pathetic."
On Twitter (X), more fans of Antonia's portrayal of Princess Baela Targaryen shared messages supporting her to drown out the hate she's been receiving for simply doing her job.
Season 2 of House of the Dragon premieres on Max on June 16.
