Credit: AmazonThings are definitely getting heated.
Related: Seth Rogen Roasts Marvel Movies – Claims They’re For Kids
Recently, this actor known for taking on superpowered individuals is using a whole new superpower of his own — the widespread, intrinsic power of social media — to his advantage.
Famous for portraying William Butcher AKA Billy Butcher on the hit Amazon Prime Video series The Boys (2019) executive produced by Seth Rogen, actor Karl Urban plays the leader of the eponymous vigilante group The Boys who set out to expose the truth about corrupted superheroes and take them down. The popular TV series is based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Karl Urban shares the stage with Jack Quaid as Hugh Campbell Jr./Hughie Campbell, Laz Alonso as Marvin T. Milk/Mother’s Milk/MM, Tomer Capone as Serge/Frenchie, and Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro/The Female. Conversely, the Supes team known as The Seven consists of Antony Starr as John/Homelander, Erin Moriarty as Annie January/Starlight, Dominique McElligott as Maggie Shaw/Queen Maeve, Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin/A-Train, Chace Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep, Nathan Mitchell as Earving/Black Noir, and are diametrically opposed to The Boys.
Karl Urban is also known for his role in films and franchises such as Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe fan favorite, Thor: Ragnarok (2017) directed by fellow New Zealander Taika Waititi, where he played Skurge/The Executioner — formerly allied with Cate Blanchett’s evil Hela, and eventually dying a hero’s death. He also portrayed Eomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Vaako in the Riddick series of movies, Dr. Leonard McCoy AKA Bones in JJ Abrams’ reboot Star Trek movies, Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and Judge Dredd in Dredd (2012), and Julius Caesar, Caesar, Cupid, among others in Xena: Warrior Princess — just to name a handful of his myriad roles.
Related: Chace Crawford Compares Career to Being “Mickey Mouse at Disneyland”
What did Karl Urban say to the bullying fan?
Speaking out against a particular fan’s “toxic” habits, the actor calls them out personally on their personal Twitter account. Being in the crosshairs of a world-renowned celebrity must be either bone-chilling (or extremely validating) for this “toxic” fan, but Urban took absolutely no prisoners in a tweet posted on March 21, 2023.
The following language may not be appropriate for younger readers.
Singling a specific fan out, Karl Urban angrily subtweets at the individual, even resorting to swearing at them for allegedly “toxic” behavior that resulted in “persistent cyberbullying”. He additionally calls the fan out for being a “cruel & wicked racist”, threatening to expose them to “the whole world”. Finally he even pinpoints their exact nationality by swearing “your dumb German ass”, promising to nuke them “from orbit” if they don’t stop:
it’s come to my attention that a toxic fan is engaged in persistent cyber bullying . I see you . STOP ! If you don’t , the whole WORLD will soon see you and know you for the cruel & wicked racist that you are . Your dumb German ass will get NUKED from orbit .
it’s come to my attention that a toxic fan is engaged in persistent cyber bullying .
I see you . STOP !
If you don’t , the whole WORLD will soon see you and know you for the cruel & wicked racist that you are .
Your dumb German ass will get NUKED from orbit .— Karl Urban (@KarlUrban) March 21, 2023
This is rather unprecedented, raw anger coming from a celebrity’s personal Twitter account, and fans have chimed in in response to the outburst.
Some have voiced strong support for Urban’s action, including New Zealand actor and The Boys co-star, Antony Starr, who responded to Urban’s callout tweet, posting three simple clapping emojis:
👏👏👏
👏👏👏
— Antony Starr (@antonystarr) March 21, 2023
Others, however, felt that Urban should delete his tweet as they believe the act of calling out specific nationalities is a “great way to create hate against a population”, as Francisco Wallmeier posts:
I really think you should delete this, would you have use the nacionality if for example was Mexican or Ukrainian? Great way to create hate against a population, or at least give the name instead of leaving it open to any German person out there!
I really think you should delete this, would you have use the nacionality if for example was Mexican or Ukrainian? Great way to create hate against a population, or at least give the name instead of leaving it open to any German person out there!
— Francisco Wallmeier (@fwallmeier) March 22, 2023
Responses to the allegation of “calling out the bully’s nationality” have been met with swift responses like @angelfireeast24’s, highlighting the fact that Urban’s father himself is German, and the singling out of nationality might have just been a means for people to correctly identify the culprit:
Isn’t Karl’s father German?
Maybe calling the person out as German wasn’t nationality as a swear but as man to identify the troll so they know it’s them he’s talking about?
Isn't Karl's father German?
Maybe calling the person out as German wasn't nationality as a swear but as man to identify the troll so they know it's them he's talking about?
— 🌵angelfireeast📚 (@angelfireeast24) March 21, 2023
Most however, are loudly proclaiming their support of Karl Urban’s choice in calling out the bully, as @Gwendoloves adds:
So sorry that you’re having to intervene like this. Please expose them so we can block them Karl. I don’t want drama or to engage with them by accident ♥️
Love ya, can’t wait to see The Boys new season
So sorry that you’re having to intervene like this. Please expose them so we can block them Karl. I don’t want drama or to engage with them by accident ♥️
Love ya, can’t wait to see The Boys new season
— Laura (@Gwendoloves) March 21, 2023
Hopefully, this cyberbully will finally learn their lesson, and Karl Urban will no longer have to make specific callout posts on his personal social media accounts to curb toxic fans himself.
Do you agree with Karl Urban’s way of calling out this toxic fan? Share your thoughts in the comments below!