The Boys Star Harassed By Fans At Comic-Con 

Last Saturday, Valorie Curry posted a video to Instagram about the incident, prefacing her account by saying “by and large, everyone was fantastic.” She then pivoted to the “need to talk about boundaries and what is appropriate in terms of behavior.” Without specifying exactly what the individuals said or did, she went on to say “I don’t care if you are in costume, I don’t care if you are in character–it is not OK and it is not funny to have demanded those things from me in person at my booth.”

Reading between the lines, it seems like some creepy fans were trying to act “in character” and treating Valorie Curry as if she was her Firecracker character in real life. That would be a little sad and weird in almost any context, but she described how one person “did that repeatedly” even though she “made it pretty clear it wasn’t okay.” Instead of the person apologizing or feeling chagrined, the actor notes that her response “only seemed to make this person and their friend angry.”

Chances are that Valorie Curry felt safe at this Comic Con because other high-profile female celebs were in attendance, including Doctor Who stars like Jodie Whitaker and Billie Piper. The Boys actor has only recently started attending these events, but after the harassment she experienced, she is beginning to question whether she will attend future conventions. While reiterating that “everyone, for the most part, has been so lovely and so kind and respectful,” she pointed out that “I am not going to be able to do this if people are acting this way because it makes me so uncomfortable and honestly you should know much better.”

Noting that “everybody else knows better,” she addressed her harassers directly, saying “I don’t know what reaction you were looking for” and that “nobody was laughing” about their antics. As she began wrapping up the video and again expressing gratitude for most of the fans she encountered, Valorie Curry offered some advice for those who might follow in her harassers’ footsteps. “If you are thinking about it, if you think it is going to be a bit or a moment, it is not, and it is honestly just going to make me feel bad.”

She ended the video with some advice that, in a perfect world, would be common sense for everyone attending events like Comic Con. “Please think about that before coming up to talk to me,” she said, imploring fans to “think about what is appropriate and professional.” Considering that Valorie Curry has more such appearances coming up (including appearing with many of her costars from The Boys at Spookala in Tampa, Florida), we can only hope that she has a better experience with fans who know the difference between fiction and reality.

Hearing her chilling account of this convention experience is a reminder of just how spot-on the satire of The Boys can often be. The show’s controversial fourth season featured an episode where Valorie Curry’s Firecracker character appeared at “Truth Con,” a fictional event filled with nutty conspiracy theorists. They, too, couldn’t really distinguish truth from reality, and now the woman who plays Firecracker is encountering a different flavor of the same weirdos when she attends pop culture conventions in real life.

With any luck, Valorie Curry’s words will reach those who need to hear them, allowing her to enjoy her future convention appearances while allowing non-crazy fans to share their appreciation of the actor. This whole incident ultimately serves as a grim reminder that nobody needs Homelander’s laser eyes or super-strength to be a menace. They simply need to have no awareness or empathy for others, and in real life, there’s simply no fancy injection from Vought that can fix the core problem.