UMVA has learned that former Superman actor Dean Cain has sparked a fresh backlash online after admitting to laughing at a crude joke about the appearance of new Supergirl star Milly Alcock.
The controversy erupted on social media after a user shared promotional artwork of Alcock, 26, who is set to make her debut as Kara Zor-El in the upcoming Supergirl film, and questioned how the superhero could have pierced ears if her skin is supposedly bulletproof. Another account then took the conversation in a more personal direction, posting a side-by-side comparison between Alcock and Chaka, a prehistoric humanoid character from a 1970s TV series, asking: ‘And why does she look like this guy?’
Cain weighed in with a brief response of his own, writing: ‘Dang it… I laughed.’ The comment quickly spread across social media, with many fans accusing the 59-year-old actor of joining in with appearance-based mockery aimed at a woman young enough to be his daughter.
Several Reddit users were particularly critical of Cain’s response, with one user writing: ‘She is like the most conventionally attractive woman ever. We can’t win.’ Another replied: ‘THIS. RIGHT. HERE. They just hate women. Period.’ Others pointed to Cain’s own experiences with criticism over the years, with one commenter writing: ‘To make it worse, he’s literally talked about receiving backlash and being given racist nicknames for being a half-Asian Superman actor, and yet here he is endorsing and actively participating in those same systems of bigotry and shaming.’
The row comes amid growing scrutiny of Cain’s public comments in recent months. Last year, he sparked controversy after criticising a director for describing Superman as an immigrant, telling a news outlet that Hollywood was making the character ‘woke’. More recently, plans to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a sworn officer after publicly supporting the agency’s recruitment drive.
Alcock, meanwhile, has yet to respond to the internet discourse about her appearance publicly. The 26-year-old actress rose to international fame playing young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon and is widely regarded as one of the breakout stars of the franchise. Her casting as Supergirl by DC Studios as part of a rebooted DC Universe, with fans expected to get their first extended look at her version of the character when the film arrives next year.
Many fans have rallied around Alcock, with one user writing: ‘So an old washed up loser is bullying someone young enough to be his daughter publicly because she dares being the lead in a superhero movie. What a loser. I hope Supergirl will be a massive success. I will go watch it with my daughter.’ Others argued the incident reflected a wider pattern of hostility towards female-led superhero projects, with one user writing: ‘I don’t get why whenever we get a female superhero movie, it turns into toxic masculinity central. It is like a woman can’t be powerful or successful.’
