Henry Cavill Settles Relationship Gossip Once and for All

The Witcher star Henry Cavill is speaking out about fan backlash to his latest romantic relationship. The actor took to Instagram to ask fans to be kind to his girlfriend, Natalie Viscuso, vice president of television and digital studios at Legendary Entertainment. "I couldn't help but notice that there has been some social animosity of late," Cavill wrote alongside a selfie with Viscuso. "It's becoming increasingly prevalent on my feed. There has been lots of, let's call it speculation for now, about my private life and professional partnerships. Now, while I do appreciate the passion and support by those very people who are 'speculating,' It has come to such a point that I needed to say something, which in itself, is a bad thing. We are living in an age of social enlightenment. More and more, people are realising that their views may have been blinkered and that they need to expand them to encompass others."

"So, to you out there who are expressing your disdain and showing your displeasure through a surprising variety of ways, it's time to stop," the Justice League star continued. "I know it can be fun to speculate, to gossip, and to dive into our own personal echo chambers on the internet, but your 'passion' is misplaced, and it causes harm to the people I care about most. Even your most conservative of negative assumptions about both my personal and professional life just aren't true. Let's embrace this age of social enlightenment together, and move forward with positivity. I am very happy in love, and in life. I'd be enormously grateful if you were happy with me. If you can't bring yourself to be happy with me, then at the very least try to do yourself proud and be the best version of yourself."

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Cavill's comments come in the wake of fans' feeling overly entitled to opinions about his romantic life, sometimes leading to major oversteps brought on by the parasocial relationships. Cavill went public with the relationship in April by posting a photo with Natalie of the two of them playing chess. "This is me looking quietly confident shortly before my beautiful and brilliant love Natalie, destroys me at chess," he wrote.

Cavill has largely kept a low profile with his romantic relationships. He was previously engaged to English showjumper Ellen Whitaker in 2011 and 2012. He was briefly linked to The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco in 2013 and also had an on-again-off-again relationship with former The Mandalorian actress Gina Carano in 2012 and 2014.