Ginny & Georgia made waves this week on Netflix as the current number one show on the streaming service.
However, the show has also found itself embroiled in controversy over a joke about Taylor Swift's dating life. Taylor herself tweeted at Netflix on Monday, calling it "deeply sexist" and "lazy."
Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse shit as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn’t look cute on you 💔 Happy Women’s History Month I guess
For context, the line, "What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift," was said by Ginny, a 16-year-old character in an argument with her mother.
Unfortunately, some fans of Taylor have responded by spamming the cast with hateful comments. A large portion of the backlash has been directed at 23-year-old actor Antonia Gentry (who plays Ginny), with people even leaving openly racist comments on her Instagram posts.
Despite everything going on, Antonia has not shied away from social media. Today, she took the time to thank her fans for their support and share her thoughts on Ginny as a character — and everyone should read what she has to say.
"Thank you for the love and support you have shown me and our show, Ginny & Georgia, over the past week," Antonia wrote. "I never would have imagined something like this as a young girl — that is, having a voice capable of impact. 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."
"As someone who grew up feeling voiceless and unimportant, and who did not see herself reflected on screen, Ginny Miller was finally a reprieve," Antonia wrote about her character. "Finally, a character who was just as confused and imperfect as I was gets a chance to exist. Ginny Miller, though fictional, is a character who 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," Antonia continued. "She is a character among many in the show who implicate us all. She shows us our own biases, prejudices, and injustices."
"[Ginny] loves, she lies, and she stands up for what she believes in — even though she may not have all of her facts straight," Antonia wrote. "She makes mistakes — morally, mentally, physically, emotionally — and not just within herself, but within the broken world she lives in."
Personally, I think Antonia's post is not only a great insight into her as an actor and a person, but also a really good reminder that teenage characters like Ginny are not supposed to be perfect.
Like Antonia said in her post, Ginny messes up — a lot. But isn't that kind of the point? Literally none of us were perfect as teenagers. I personally would gladly fight my 15-year-old self.
Regardless of your feelings about Ginny, I think we can all appreciate Antonia Gentry's message and her portrayal of a very real, complicated character that so many people are seeing themselves in.
