The Boys’ Erin Moriarty Leaves Instagram Citing Bullying Following “Disgustingly False” Claims

Erin Moriarty has become well-known for her role as Starlight in The Boys, but the actress has suffered for her fame at the hands of online bullies and taken the drastic action of shutting down her social media account as a result.

The issues arose following comments made by former Fox News talk show host Megyn Kelly took aim at the actress, claiming that she was foolish to have had plastic surgery at such a young age. Moriarty turned to Instagram to address and refute these claims, categorizing Kelly’s actions as a form of bullying. Moriarty hit back at Kelly for using a decade-old photograph in order to try and back up her allegations, and also addressed comments made on her social media accounts on the back of it.

In her statement, Moriarty highlighted the detrimental impact of such rumors, emphasizing the stress she was under, and expressed dismay at the extent of the online harassment, particularly in light of Kelly’s influential platform. In part of her lengthy post, Moriarty wrote:

“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. Megyn has 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 actually about to turn 30) as an example. How utterly misinformed, inaccurate, and clickbait seeking people who we follow and consider to be informed is appalling.”

Erin Moriarty Has Stood Up to Her Online Haters Again

Moriarty went on to share her “horrified” reaction to the way her followers had reacted to the video and the claims made within it. She addressed those reactions directly, while also noting that she would be leaving her account activated so people can still see her statement. She continued:

“The only reason I have not deactivated my account is because I will be leaving this here. Otherwise, consider it deactivated… I’m deciding to invest my energy into my work. Social media is not something that came naturally to me and that was an investment of energy to connect with you guys. And I am horrified by the reaction, the reductive assumptions, and the aforementioned video that is a primary example of such harassment. It’s broken my heart. You’ve broken my heart. You’ve lost the privilege of this account, so you can believe whatever you want. But there’s no excuse for these horrific allegations, the verbal abuse that I have had to delete, and genuinely false information that is being used to perpetuate a message that is exhibitionist feminism.”

Megyn Kelly’s comments on Moriarty’s appearance were made during an edition of her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, on January 17. Kelly speculated about changes in Moriarty’s facial features, framing it as part of a broader trend of young people undergoing plastic surgery. Support poured in from her The Boys co-stars, with Chace Crawford (The Deep) and Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell) expressing solidarity and encouragement, although some comments made by Moriarty’s followers have done nothing to disprove her statement.

This is not the first time that Moriarty has taken a stand against online haters. Back in September 2022, both she and The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke condemned harassment of the actress, with Kripke stepping in to tell those “fans” that the show didn’t need them.