Shannon Purser is speaking out about casting in Hollywood.
The 24-year-old actress, best known for Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and for playing Barb in Stranger Things Season 1, got candid on social media about the lack of opportunities and onscreen representation for “iconic fat characters.”
Find out what she had to say…
The new Netflix movie Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, starring Shannon Purser and Noah Centineo, is being criticized for their portrayal of a character pretending to be deaf.
Model, activist, and past DWTS winner Nyle DiMarco, who is deaf in real life, took to Twitter to speak to the issue.
“So one of my close friends’ deaf brother is in Sierra Burgess When I learned, I was elated. Finally more deaf actors/representation & ASL inclusion in films … Only to find out the deaf character was written and used for a terrible joke. PS- pretending to be deaf is NOT ok,” Nyle tweeted over the weekend. “There were homophobic and transphobic jokes as well.”
“It is extremely easy to make jokes about marginalized/disfranchised groups … but that makes you a lazy writer,” he continued. “And honestly you shouldn’t make these jokes AT ALL because our lives are on the line.”
So one of my close friends' deaf brother is in Sierra Burgess
When I learned, I was elated. Finally more deaf actors/representation & ASL inclusion in films
… Only to find out the deaf character was written and used for a terrible joke.
PS- pretending to be deaf is NOT ok.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) September 9, 2018
It is extremely easy to make jokes about marginalized/disfranchised groups
… but that makes you a lazy writer.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) September 9, 2018
And honestly you shouldn’t make these jokes AT ALL because our lives are on the line.
— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) September 9, 2018
Shannon Purser and Noah Centineo look ridiculously cute together on the red carpet at the Sierra Burgess Is A Loser premiere on Thursday (August 30) at the ArcLight in Hollywood.
The young stars of the Netflix movie were joined by co-stars RJ Cyler and Kristine Froseth.
This is Noah‘s second Netflix movie in weeks following the launch of his movie To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, which has turned him into an instant star. His Instagram account has skyrocketed in followers in the past couple weeks.
Sierra Burgess Is A Loser premieres on September 7.
FYI: Shannon is wearing a Tadashi Shoji dress and CSARITE fine jewelry by Nak Armstrong. Noah is wearing an Emporio Armani suit, Vans sneakers, and an IWC watch.
Shannon Purser is trying to figure out who she is in upcoming flick Sierra Burgess Is A Loser.
The Netflix film is a modern rom-com retelling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story set in high school.
The movie follows Sierra, who is smart but doesn’t fall into the shallow definition of high school pretty. In a case of mistaken identity that results in unexpected romance, she must team with the popular girl in order to win her crush.
The flick also stars RJ Cyler, Noah Centineo, Chrissy Metz and Lea Thompson.
Sierra Burgess Is A Loser hits Netflix on September 7th.
Check out the entire trailer below…
Trigger Warning: This post contains language about suicidal ideation and mental health.
Shannon Purser is opening up about her struggles with suicidal ideation and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
The 20-year-old Stranger Things star shared her experience with fans in a moving essay she wrote for Teen Vogue.
She begins by talking about a mental breakdown she had the night before her biology final was due.
“Up until that point, I’d been wearily battling the demons that plagued me every day; silently suffering and feeling completely unable to share my thoughts with anyone. That night, though, I gave up,” she writes. “My will to fight was gone, and as my mother tried to help me finish the project, I broke down and said what I’d been thinking: ‘I don’t want to be alive.’”
Shannon goes on to reveal the process that led to her OCD and depression diagnoses, explaining how “that was a huge relief, because now my struggles had a name and could be reckoned with.”
“Looking back, I wish I’d been able to reach out for help sooner,” Shannon remarks while discussing the importance of support systems, therapy, knowledge, and more.
To read Shannon‘s full essay, head to TeenVogue.com.
Thanks so much @TeenVogue for giving me this opportunity. I hope someone will read this and feel a little more understood and a little less alone. https://t.co/04g4ALHsyN
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) May 4, 2018
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
Charlize Theron walks the black carpet at the premiere of her new movie Tully on Wednesday night (April 18) at the Regal LA Live Stadium 14 in Los Angeles.
The 42-year-old Oscar-winning actress went glam in a black dress covered in metallic butterflies for the event.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Charlize Theron
Also stepping out for the premiere were Charlize‘s co-stars Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston and wife Rosemarie DeWitt, Asher Miles Fallica, and Lia Frankland.
The movie’s writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman also hit the black carpet alongside guests Nia Vardalos and Shannon Purser.
Tully hits theaters on May 4 – and you can check out the trailer here.
FYI: Charlize is wearing a Dior dress and Fred Leighton jewelry. Mackenzie is wearing Jennifer Meyer jewelry. Shannon is wearing a shirt and suit by Eloquii and shoes by Aldo.
25+ pictures inside of the stars at the premiere…More Here! »
Shannon Purser stars in her own zine inside the new issue of Heroine magazine, available now!
Here’s what the 20-year-old actress had to share with the mag:
On when she knew Stranger Things was a hit: “I don’t know if there was a particular moment when it first hit me. But it was definitely so interesting after the show had come out and wondering whether anyone would watch it…and then being on Twitter and Instagram and seeing people start to post about it all the time.”
On filming the show while she was in high school: “I filmed Stranger Things in my senior year at high school and it was a bit strange. At the time nobody knew what the show was going to be and I loved it. I kind of felt like I had this double life where every couple of days or so I got to be on set and do this amazing thing and then I’d go back to school and I’d have a biology test or something…I think people were intrigued but definitely once the show came out and they realized, ‘Oh this is what she’s been working on this whole time,’ that’s when people started to freak out a little bit.
On using her platform to discuss mental health: “I think it’s ridiculous there is this significant percentage of people in the world who are dealing with mental health issues who are shamed into silence. People speak freely about other illnesses and issues so why should mental illness be this thing that’s shameful or something people can’t talk freely about? I think it just does a lot more harm than good and if there’s anyway I can help, then that’s what I want to do.”
Shannon was photographed by Fabien Kruszelnicki and styled by Courtney Kryston.
For more from Shannon, visit TheHeroineMagazine.com.
