‘The Boys’ actress Erin Moriarty leaves Instagram because of ‘verbal abuse’ after Megyn Kelly’s comments

By CNN Newsource

Published January 28, 2024 12:14 PM

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — “The Boys” star Erin Moriarty has left Instagram after facing “verbal abuse” that she said was directed toward her after television personality Megyn Kelly made comments about Moriarty’s appearance.

On a recent episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” a SiriusXM show that also streams on YouTube, Kelly showed photos of Moriarty during a conversation about society’s obsession with cosmetic procedures.

In a lengthy statement posted to her Instagram page, Moriarty, known for playing superhero Starlight in the Prime Video series “The Boys,” said the comments Kelly made about her were “horrific allegations” and called the segment “misinformed” and “inaccurate.”

Moriarty said she would be taking “an extensive if not permanent break” from social media.

“I saw the comments, scathing enough to just turn my comments off. But this is becoming harassment,” she wrote.

In the segment, Kelly, who said she has not watched “The Boys,” said the actress “decided to completely change her face,” highlighting two photos of Moriarty.

“Apparently, it’s real. She’s done this to herself,” Kelly said on the January 17 episode of her show.

In her statement, Moriarty said Kelly used one photo that was taken “over a decade ago” and that the second photo was taken at an event where she had her makeup applied professionally with “major contouring.”

“I remember leaving and feeling pretty,” she wrote. “I came running to [the makeup artists] 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.”

CNN asked a representative for Kelly if the former Fox News journalist had reached out to Moriarty for comment prior to referencing her on the show and if Kelly stood by her comments. The representative did not reply.

“There is 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,” Moriarty wrote.

She said she was not deactivating her account so that her statement can remain publicly on her page.

“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,” she wrote.

CNN reached out to a representative for Moriarty for further comment.

Moriarty’s other credits include “True Detective,” “Jessica Jones” and “One Life to Live.”