Chyler Leigh - Social media, hate and life imitating art.
Supergirl answer to question ref bullying & social media.
Chyler’s answer as we wrote it in real time from Starfury Ultimates convention, Birmingham, UK, 2019. Please note it was done short hand by a former secretary before any accusations of recording gets thrown our way, as we fully respected the rules and would never encourage anyone to break them. They’re there for a reason!
It is pretty much verbatim. Edited: I’ve now posted a picture of the question (link at the end of post). This is included with other thoughts of mine, you don’t have to read them, but if you want the full question, full context of how it was worded, then I’ve been given permission to post it.
Chyler:
I need to stretch for that one *Chyler gets up and does that*.
So, so, I’ll be very honest with you, I’m very glad that you asked me that question, and this is a very big discussion amid our crew, in this season in particular, as far as our *gaggle of gals has expanded. It includes Melissa, and it includes Azie, and it includes ah, Katie, and we’ve had multiple conversations about you know, about the fandom, and and, let me speak to social media in particular because; social media in general has, it’s like a double edged sword, okay. It’s like the master sword in Zelda - yes I’m going there - and it's incredibly powerful, it’s an incredibly powerful platform, one that gives you incredible, wonderful meaningful things, and opens so much up, doors of opportunity, for people for healing, for togetherness, for people to feel like they’re understood and heard and find purpose, and find something that you’re passionate about, there are so many amazing things about social media, and there are so many *horrible* things about social media.
And I did back off. I have backed off, because I have gone online and I have gone through my mentions and my feed and see such horrible things. And have had so many terrible things said about me, about my co-workers, about our show in general, questioning our integrity, questioning who we are as a family, and people as a cast and as a group of people who are artists who happen to genuinely love and care about each other. And it’s been attacked on many counts, and I find that incredibly unfair.
But what I see happen among the fans, like we can handle our own, like there’s so much, like water off a duck's back right. There’s only so much you can do with that, but what we’ve seen from the fans internally has been heartbreaking in so many ways. And again, that kinda comes back to that double edged sword side when you go, there’s so much good that can be done, but it just takes a moment, it takes a word to knock somebody down, and to be honest it’s intolerable.
It’s, I don’t think people truly understand the power of words, and whether they’re spoken to somebody in person, or just something that you read, I think that the power of the tongue can take down empires. It really can.
So we do our best to show love and to show appreciation and to show unity and feel like we have to stick up for ourselves more, and we’re a family you know. And we’re here to tell amazing stories and we’re also here to inspire people, and hopefully that’s what we’re doing, you know. Hopefully that’s like for us to get up to know that what we’re doing has purpose, and it helps people and it’s saved people’s lives and has changed the direction entirely of someone’s life.
That’s the point. You know we’re here to speak from a social platform we’re here. If you’re given a platform of influence, an opportunity to speak like to the people, then you’re just a jerk if you don’t use it appropriately. In my opinion.
That’s how I feel.
Audience applauded. Couldn’t catch the first couple of words but then Chyler went on:
I’m so sorry the division that comes up, and we have a thousand more stories to tell, and the point is, and I’ll wrap it up sorry, it’s just something I’m really passionate about in trying to like, put it all in one little chapter, we have amazing opportunity to continue to grow, as a show, as characters, and people evolve. And that goes up and it goes down, and the whole point is, like when you find people that you love and that care about, and this goes life imitating art and vice versa, we gotta walk through the changes and the challenges together. And that’s a big part of what we’ve talked about; is doing this together. And you know, it’s an honour to tell stories that we tell. And we’re going to keep telling the stories and they’re not going to be what everybody wants, and they’re not going to be what makes everybody happy, but you know what, that is life.
That’s so, that what happens in my life. I go through that every single day myself (voice cracks). That’s life. But we go and we grow, and we find people that you love and that you support and vice versa (tears up) the point is be together.
Applause.
Chyler as it dies down. “I love you all. And I really want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’m surprised I said so much.”
End.
*Referencing what she called the women on stage/SG earlier in panel.
If you want to see the question:
I’ve seen numerous posts about the question asked of Chyler in regards to social media at Starfury Ultimates, May 2019. (Link will be at the
