April 6, 2020

Non-Binary Actor Ezra Miller Appears to Choke Fan? Cancel Culture Sharpens Claws

Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.

A man appearing to be non-binary actor Ezra Miller, who has portrayed The Flash in DC films and TV shows, is seen tussling with a young woman in a viral video that has cancel culture sharpening its claws.

The video, a young woman appears to confront a man resembling Miller. The man responds, "Oh, you wanna fight?" He then grabs her and seems to swing her around and lower her to the ground. It's unclear from the video what's actually transpiring and whether the man's response is truly aggressive or good-natured play, but the person holding the device recording the footage can be heard interjecting, "Who, bro, bro, bro!"

The clip, which originally appeared at Reddit, has sparked widespread outrage. The person who originally posted the clip offered further details, reported UK newspaper The Mirror:

"[Ezra] was showing her his 'scars' from all the fights he'd been in and she said I could beat you up."

The clip quickly spread to other social media platforms as it went viral.

"I have rewatched this video of Ezra Miller choking a woman like 50x," on Twitter user posted in a share of the video.

The post goes on: "this is y'all tone deaf cop sympathizing–style stealing narcissistic white icon?"

Media outlets also have sounded a note of caution, noting that the man in the video only looks like Miller and it's not clear that it actually is Miller. Moreover, some on social media have posited that the brief clip does not actually appear to show anyone being choked.

All the same, the clip has drawn criticism and condemnation to the 27-year-old star, reports UK newspaper the Independent. Diego Tinoco, who stars in the Netflix series "On My Block," posted a Twitter response in which he opined, "Dam.. insanely inhuman to disrespect and a harm a fan like that. "

Added Tinoco:

"Don't know the whole backstory but I don't think I have to."

Others argued the opposite, saying context matters. One Twitter user responded to Tinoco's comments with, "If you don't know the backstory then you shouldn't be commenting on the situation if it doesn't concern you, my guy"

The individual who originally posted the video clip claimed that the man in the video was taken in by police afterward. Media outlets noted that Miller has not responded to the claims that he is the man in the video.

by Kilian Melloy , EDGE Staff Reporter

Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.

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