Eighth Grade's Elsie Fisher Found Herself In A Twitter Fiasco — & She Couldn’t Have Handled It Better
Eighth Grade star and Golden Globe nominee Elsie Fisher came under fire for supporting one of the award show's most controversial films — but she handled the situation like a total pro.
The 2019 Golden Globes stunned many when Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody took home the Best Motion Picture award for drama. Some fans were surprised that the movie, which is rated merely 62% on Rotten Tomatoes and came under controversy for minimising Mercury's queer identity, beat out films like Black Panther and A Star Is Born. Others believed the win was a sign that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was ignoring the many accusations of sexual misconduct against fired director Bryan Singer.
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Singer was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody two weeks before shooting wrapped for his alleged absences on set, was recently accused of raping a 17-year-old man in 2003. It is just one in a slew of sexual misconduct allegations against Singer.
Singer did not attend the Golden Globes, and the performers and producers of the film declined to comment on Singer on stage or when asked about him in the press room. The ousted director did, however, celebrate the Golden Globes win on Instagram.
"What an honour. Thank you #HollywoodForeignPress," Singer wrote in the caption of a behind-the-scenes moment from the movie. (Film producer Brett Ratner, also accused of sexual misconduct by multiple people, commented on the post "So happy for you brother!")
One person unaware of the controversy was Fisher, who tweeted her excitement over Bohemian Rhapsody, and star Rami Malek, who won for Best Performance. Fisher wrote:
"IM SO HAPPY RAMI MALEK AND BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WON GOLDEN GLOBES IM THRILLED TONIGHT IS THE BEST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
IM SO HAPPY RAMI MALEK AND BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WON GOLDEN GLOBES IM THRILLED TONIGHT IS THE BEST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Elsie Fisher (@ElsieKFisher) January 7, 2019
Unfortunately for Fisher, the backlash against her comment was swift with some claiming, per Buzzfeed, that this response was why she didn't "win" at the Golden Globes.
While it's certainly valid to criticise the honouring of Singer in Hollywood, attacking Fisher for being a fan of the Golden Globe-winning film was completely misplaced. In fact, the actress had little clue about why the movie was so controversial.
"Why is everyone being so mean about this?," Fisher asked on Twitter after fans came for her in the replies to her original post. "I’m genuinely sorry if I did something wrong."
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Why is everyone being so mean about this? I’m genuinely sorry if I did something wrong :(
— Elsie Fisher (@ElsieKFisher) January 7, 2019
After some fans informed her of Singer's controversy, Fisher wrote an eloquent response.
"Please educate me in the future if I do something problematic," the young actress said. "I want to better myself and grow! I was also vaguely aware the director of said film was bad but had no other information as to why he was considered such or what he had done. I know now."
She also added that she stands by Malek and the rest of the cast — but would love to be informed in the future of such controversy.
"I’ll continue to be proud of Rami and the supporting cast because they are incredible, but otherwise I will hold back. Understand this though; there are many problematic people in Hollywood, and as someone who is busy frequently I don’t always have time to keep up. So tell me."
My thoughts on this- please educate me in the future if I do something problematic. I want to better myself and grow! I was also vaguely aware the director of said film was bad but had no other information as to why he was considered such or what he had done. I know now. https://t.co/kMGFl2xvpj
— Elsie Fisher (@ElsieKFisher) January 7, 2019
I’ll continue to be proud of Rami and the supporting cast because they are incredible, but otherwise I will hold back. Understand this though; there are many problematic people in Hollywood, and as someone who is busy frequently I don’t always have time to keep up. So tell me.
— Elsie Fisher (@ElsieKFisher) January 7, 2019
While it's great to educate people when they express thoughts without knowing the full scope of a story, it's also worth mentioning that cyberbullying anyone for said opinions is never okay. Kudos to Fisher for taking the high road — and for being willing to learn.
Refinery29 reached out to Fisher for comment.
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