Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch has politely asked her homophobic followers to block her on social media platforms.
Last Saturday, the Irish people made history when they voted yes to same-sex marriage. This marks the first time same-sex marriage has been legalized by popular vote.
In light of this, it seems Irish actress Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series) has seen an influx of trolls spreading hate and negativity on her Instagram feed, which has prompted her to write a lengthy and powerful Facebook post addressing the comments.
Perhaps ironically, the tone of Lynch’s message — polite, and non-confrontational — serves to convey a much stronger message than if she had taken the homophobic commenters to task and actively challenged their statements.
Lynch writes, “Simply, if you are someone who perceives homosexuality as ‘disgusting’ or ‘fucked up’ or ‘unnatural’, will you do me a kindness and please unfollow me on all social media platforms. And then block me.”
Related: Evanna Lynch writes op-ed on conquering online trolls
“If I was someone who wanted to devote her life to fighting this fight to expand people’s minds on the definition of marriage and to break down people’s prejudices towards homosexuality I would probably encourage this constant antagonistic debate,” she explains, “and I would invite the radicals to do verbal morality battles with me. But this is not my life’s purpose, it’s just life as I see it, something I endorse and the nasty, scathing and downright cruel remarks just Wear. Me. Out.”
The young actress goes on to state, in no uncertain terms, that being religious and being full of hate are in fact contrary terms. “Please don’t for a second pin the intolerance and hatred you spread on ‘religion’ for no religion endorses the darkness you’re spreading,” she writes. “It is possible to not like the idea of homosexuality, to find it a wholly alien, uncomfortable concept and to NOT impose this view on the people it affects and above all to NOT shame people for the way they are.”
Finally, Lynch reminds her fans — who most likely follow her because of Harry Potter — that Luna Lovegood, the character her followers claim to love, represents “a GOOD kind of love. It is not conditional or possessive or needy or demanding. It doesn’t fall apart the moment you expose a piece of yourself that is unconventional or even unbecoming.”
The entire post is fantastic, and we won’t bastardize her words any more by quoting them, so head to Evanna Lynch’s Facebook wall and read it yourself. Whether you are an LGBTQ+ rights supporter or not, her words strike home in a way few words on the Internet do these days, and we’re very glad she chose to share her statement with the world.
This isn’t the first time Lynch has made a powerful statement on big issues affecting young people. A few years back, she wrote a fantastic article on body image, and last year she addressed how to deal with online trolls.
Through her on-going work with The Harry Potter Alliance, Lynch has done a world of good, promoting same-sex marriage rights and positive change. Keep up the great work, Evanna!