Milana Vayntrub says she still second-guesses every scene she's in after facing 'unwanted sexual and violent comments' over her AT&T commercials
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Vayntrub, who played Lily in several AT&T commercials, opened up about facing online harassment.
The "Werewolves Within" star said she was "surprised" by the support she received from fans.
"It was surprising in every way, in the support and in the controversy," she told Insider.
Milana Vayntrub revealed in a new interview with Insider that she was "surprised" by the support she received after opening up about her experience with online harassment.
The actress has appeared on shows like "This Is Us" (and stars in the new horror-comedy "Werewolves Within") but is perhaps most recognized for playing a friendly AT&T employee named Lily in a series of commercials.
Last year Vayntrub took to Instagram Live to denounce the sexually explicit comments and online harassment she'd received as a result of appearing in the ads - and told Insider in a recent interview that the whole controversy was unexpected.
"I wasn't upset because people shared their opinions on my appearance, but I said something because just by showing up to do my job, I received unwanted sexual and violent comments about my body and what people want to do to it," the actress said.
She slammed "the idea that it is my job to avoid being harassed," and said the entire experience "was surprising in every way, in the support and in the controversy."
"Like so many women and so many nonbinary people, I'm expected to go to unreasonable lengths to avoid harassment," Vayntrub continued. "That can be even worse for people of color online because it's often coupled with racial slurs."
After Vayntrub's Instagram Live, numerous fans online offered messages of support and condemned her harassers. AT&T also spoke out in support of Vayntrub, eventually disabling the comments section of an Instagram post featuring her Lily character.
But Vayntrub told Insider she still carefully considers each scene she partakes in.
"Of course I take into account how much skin I'm showing and whether I have a violent scene or a sexual scene, or honestly, whether I'm showing my feet or not, because it becomes a conversation about the way that I'm treated online," she said. "I'm unfortunately always thinking about it."
"Werewolves Within," which premiered June 25, is available on demand now. You can watch Vayntrub in the trailer below.
Read the original article on Insider
