'Stranger Things' star Joe Keery apologizes for racist tweets on hacked account, fans offer comfort, support
‘Stranger Things’ star Joe Keery apologized to his 1.2 million followers on Monday, saying his account had been hacked.
“Hey everyone, I was hacked as I’m sure everyone knows. What a bummer that someone would go to such great lengths to spread hate. I want to apologize for the horrible comments that were posted, it was deeply upsetting to me. Much love to you all in these crazy times,” he wrote.
Fans of the 27-year-old actor, who plays Steve Harrington on the Netflix science-fiction drama, were confused when they saw hateful and inflammatory messages on his Twitter account on Sunday.
According to reports, the N-word and claims that he was “molested” on his Netflix show were posted to Keery’s account. Keery’s Twitter account had also retweeted tweets from another account, which has since been suspended, that claimed to have “kidnapped” the actor and taken his phone. “I currently have joe kidnapped btw,” one tweet said. Another stated, “Burning my PC after this feds ain't catching me.”
Yet another tweet read, “I Have Coronavirus, I’m Going To Meet Juice WRLD Now.” The account posted screenshots of texts allegedly sent to Keery. The alleged hackers also took potshots at Keery’s ‘Stranger Things’ co-stars Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, and Caleb McLaughlin (who play Dustin, Mike, and Lucas respectively), making mean comments on the young actors.
Fans of Keery immediately felt something was wrong. His Twitter account was soon deactivated. “As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we locked the compromised account and investigated the situation,” a representative for Twitter told Page Six. “We’re working closely with the account holder to restore the account.”
Fans have continued to be supportive of Keery. A fan wrote to Keery, “Hope you're doing okay. I'm so sorry that there are people out there who think it's okay to do disgusting things like that. Sending you so much love bub Growing heart.”
Another wrote, "Hi Joe, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. Yeah what they said was very disturbing but we all know it could have never been you. I hope you stay safe both physically and online!! take care, we all still love you ."
Another fan wrote, "I’m glad it was just a hack. Had it been real I would have legit been heartbroken like damn not you too."