‘Ginny and Georgia’ Star Antonia Gentry Thanks Netflix Fans for Support Following Taylor Swift Joke Backlash

Ginny and Georgia star Antonia Gentry is thanking fans for their support amid ongoing criticism over the popular Netflix series. Just days after Taylor Swift called out the show over a “lazy, deeply sexist joke” Gentry’s character Ginny Miller makes about her in the season finale, the 23-year-old actress took to Instagram on Thursday with a lengthy message thanking fans for their “voices and inspiration” as well as her onscreen counterpart, which allowed her to have “a voice capable of impact.”

In the lengthy statement, Gentry, who did not directly address Swift’s backlash or mention the singer, thanked fans “for the love and support you have shown me and our show” over the past several days. She said she “never would have imagined something like this as a young girl — that is, having a voice capable of impact,” adding that it is “so meaningful to see the hundreds of messages from fans in my inbox who feel seen, heard and understood because of the show and its characters.” The young actress added that “as someone who grew up feeling voiceless and unimportant, and who did not see herself reflected on screen, Ginny Miller was finally a reprieve. Finally, a character who was just as confused and imperfect as I was gets a chance to exist.” Although fictional, Gentry went on to reflect on how Ginny “reflects all of life’s contradictions and imperfections.”

“I fell in love with playing as Ginny Miller because she is a character who dares to be flawed, a character who tries her hardest to melt into the world around her seamlessly, but is consistently told no,” she wrote. “She is a character among many in the show who implicate us all. She shows us our own biases, prejudices and injustices. She loves, she lies and she stands up for what she believes in—even though she may not have all of her facts straight. She makes mistakes—morally, mentally, physically, emotionally—and not just within herself, but within the broken world she lives in.”

Gentry ended her post with a message of gratitude for those working on the series, who she called “talented, earnest and honest women who aren’t afraid of pulling back the curtain and exposing all of life’s intricacies — the good and the bad, all with a glass of wine in hand, and a tongue in cheek.” She also gave another shout-out to viewers “who have sent hundreds of messages about feeling seen for the first time, whether through Ginny or another character,” thanking them “for your voices and inspiration.”

Her statement came just three days after Swift called out the series for a joke made in the season finale in which Ginny says to her mother, “You go through men faster than Taylor Swift,” a jab at the singer’s romantic history. After taking note of the joke, outcry was sparked on social media, and some of Swift’s fans took to Gentry’s social media pages to attack the actress. At this time, Netflix has not responded to the outrage.