Bethany Antonia plays the dragon-riding Baela Targaryen on House of the Dragon, HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series. The grown-up version of her character only featured in a few episodes of the show's first season, but will have a bigger role in the second, which premieres in just a couple of months.
With this higher profile come complete randos saying hateful, racist things about her online. She shared one particularly deplorable message on her Instagram. "You look like a piece of sh*t," the message reads in part. "I hope you accidentally die on set."
Antonia hit back with good humor, commenting, "Wait till they find out I'm gay too" and sharing a picture of herself smiling:
i have never loved someone the way i love bethany antonia pic.twitter.com/PsT4S8DkZD
— aengus’ fool (@meltmp3) April 20, 2024
According to Pink News, it doesn't seem like the 26-year-old Antonia has come out as gay anywhere online before. On the internet, it is a truth universally acknowledged that bitter knobgoblins will harass anyone with any kind of a public profile, and that the harassment is worse if that someone is a woman, a person of color, or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Antonia is apparently all three, so it's good that she's able to laugh off this kind of nonsense.
Baela has some exciting things left to do in the story of House of the Dragon, so the second season will only raise Antonia's profile. Season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16.
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