Weeks after actress Gal Gadot revealed she was body shamed by Wonder Woman comic book fans, the Israeli-born star has come out in defence of two fans who were recently cyber-bullied for cosplaying as the female superhero.
Last week, two women dressed up as Wonder Woman for cosplay (whereby fans wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific comic book character) at a recent Comic Con event in Sri Lanka and posted their matching outfits to social media.
Hours later, their photographs went viral with cyber bullies mocking their appearance, critiquing their 'skinny' frames' and creating memes to ridicule their outfits..
Cosplayer Amaya Suriyapperuma revealed to the BBC: 'First I was shocked. I didn't really let it get to me although I was genuinely baffled at why these people would spend their valuable time hating someone they don't even know.'
Her fellow Wonder Woman fan Seshani Cooray said: 'I was offended and shocked at how the internet reacted.
'Most of the memes and comments I received seemed to objectify me,' she added.
The pair admitted they initially wanted to dress up as Wonder Woman because she is an empowering inspiration for women around the world.
But, instead of retaliating to the bullies' cruel actions online, the pair decided to report every single meme and post that condemned their appearances, and the reaction was staggering.
Learning of the Wonder Woman fans' experience, director Patty Jenkins - who recently hit back at James Cameron's claims the film was a 'step backwards' for female characters- and Gal Gadot tweeted their support.
'It definitely feels amazing to be recognised and praised by Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot herself!' Suriyapperuma said. 'I'm a huge fan of Gal Gadot so this has been amazing.'
Opening up about the problems of online bullying, Suriyapperuma told the publication she's glad her experience has raised awareness to the injustices of body shaming.
'I think it's actually a good thing that this is a public story. If we didn't get this much coverage this would've been just another case of cyber-bullying.
'But now everyone knows it and thus we have opened a very important conversation about bullying and body shaming,' she concluded.
No one messes with the Wonder Woman community and gets away with it, you hear?
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
