Actress Bethany Antonia exposed a racist troll on Instagram recently by coming out publicly for the first time. Per Pink News, the 26-year-old House of the Dragon star posted a screenshot of a hateful message she received on her Instagram Story, adding: “Wait till they find out I’m gay too…” Fans congratulated Antonia for taking this step and applauded her for staying strong in the face of online vitriol.
The screenshot that Antonia shared showed an Instagram DM reading: “N-word, you look like a piece of s—. It’s a miracle they even included you in the trailer. But we don’t care. I hope you accidentally die on set.” Antonia did not respond to the message, but posted it for all her followers to see. She added a clown emoji in her Story, adding the line about her sexuality. Antonia and other cast members have had some trouble with racist comments about House of the Dragon, though many outspoken fans also appreciated the increased diversity in this Game of Thrones spinoff.
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Antonia was born in England, and she told an interview from Nerds & Beyond that she has Jamaican ancestry as well. She has pursued acting from a young age and made her screen debut at the age of 14 in a short film adaptation of The Tempest. In 2017 when she was 18 years old, she took a more mainstream jump with the BBC One soap opera Doctors, and in 2019 she got a starring role in the teen drama Get Even, which aired on Netflix in the U.S.
On House of the Dragon, Antonia plays Lady Baela Targaryen, one of the twin daughters of Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Lady Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell). The twins had some important moments in Season 1 – most notably the fight with their cousin Aemond when he bonded the dragon Vhagar – though some fans felt that their important moments were glossed over. However, some of their best moments are still ahead.
As fans know, House of the Dragon Season 1 ended just as a civil was was about to break out in Westeros, and Baela will be on the front lines. She is a dragon-rider bonded to the dragon Moondancer, who hatched from an egg left in Baela’s cradle. Meanwhile, fans may remember that Baela’s twin sister Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) was heartbroken in Season 1 because she did not have a dragon. There are some rumors that her story in Season 2 will diverge from her story in George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, but so far there’s no way to be sure.
House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres on Sunday, June 16 on HBO and Max. Martin’s books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.
