Heartstopper's Joe Locke slams trolls calling him "ugly" on social media

3 May 2022, 15:25

The Heartstopper Cast Interview Each Other | PopBuzz Meets

By Sam Prance

"Joe Locke ugly" and "Joe Locke gay" were trending online when the Charlie actor called out the trolls.

Loading audio...

Heartstopper star Joe Locke has opened up about trolls calling him "ugly" online and how the comments have affected him.

Ever since Heartstopper debuted on Netflix last month (Apr 22), fans all around the world have fallen in love with the moving, LGBTQ+ teen drama. Set at the fictional Truham Grammar School, the new series tells the love story of Charlie (Joe Locke), a recently outed Year 10 student, and Nick (Kit Connor), a popular Year 11 rugby player who sits next to Charlie in class.

Viewers are obsessed with Joe Locke who plays Charlie but he's also received some hate online and he's now called it out.

Heartstopper&squot;s Joe Locke slams trolls calling him "ugly" on social media — Heartstopper's Joe Locke slams trolls calling him "ugly" on social media. Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for One Hundred Hotel & GQ Style, Netflix

Taking to Twitter yesterday (May 2), Joe tweeted, "Ah lovely," alongside a screenshot revealing that the most tweeted search terms that come up alongside his name are "ugly" and "gay". Joe then added: "Everyone should be entitled to an opinion, but just know we see most of the stuff people post online :)".

Fans quickly rushed to defend Joe. One person tweeted: "it’s the fact that this is joe locke’s first big acting role, and you guys are ruining it by trending “joe locke ugly” “joe locke gay.” cant we appreciate the HUGE steps that heartstopper is making for the queer community?"

Joe's co-star Sebastian Croft (Ben) added: "It baffles me that anyone can watch heartstopper and then go on to do something like this. Clearly missing the entire point."

Kit Connor, who plays Nick, also defended Joe by tweeting: "primary school playground flashbacks."

Everyone should be entitled to an opinion, but just know we see most of the stuff people post online :)
— Joe Locke (@joelocke03) May 2, 2022

it’s the fact that this is joe locke’s first big acting role, and you guys are ruining it by trending “joe locke ugly” “joe locke gay.” cant we appreciate the HUGE steps that heartstopper is making for the queer community? joe locke is the prettiest ever. twitter is so weird. pic.twitter.com/iJAn5eqwzX
— JOE LOCKE 🫶🫶 (@heartsstoppedd) May 2, 2022

It baffles me that anyone can watch heartstopper and then go on to do something like this. Clearly missing the entire point 🤦🏼‍♂️ https://t.co/1K9qfhrT8p
— Sebastian Croft (@SebastianCroft) May 2, 2022

primary school playground flashbacks. https://t.co/vEosIi6zUA
— Kit Connor (@kit_connor) May 2, 2022

i fucking hate twitter… wtf is wrong with people?! Joe locke just tries to innocently search his name to see what comes up and then the first two popular topics are “joe locke gay” and “joe locke ugly” get a fucking grip, all of you that caused this are disgusting.
— raven♡ (@astronotfoond) May 2, 2022

THE AUDACITY TO CALL JOE LOCKE UGLY pic.twitter.com/rIgP87Frb9
— E D M E A 🏠 (@suunfl0wed) May 2, 2022

It goes without saying that making fun of people's looks and calling them ugly is wrong. As fans have already said, this is an incredible time for Joe and he should be able to enjoy the success of Heartstopper in peace without seeing negative tweets about his appearance.