Just days before the film’s release, Australian actress Milly Alcock made a series of comments during interviews in London and New York City that have sparked discussion about the character’s independence.
In London, when an Associated Press reporter raised online discussions about “Kara’s queerness,” Alcock—who plays Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El—stated she would answer “in honor of Pride Month.” She added: “I don’t know. I think that what makes this film so beautiful is that it’s not centered around a man, it’s not centered around love at all. … She’d probably go both ways.”
During a New York City interview with Variety, Alcock reiterated the point: “I’ve just had a few people ask me about her because it’s Pride Month and all that, and I think that she’s a really great representation of what a modern woman can be.” She described Kara as “strong, tough, messy” and emphasized the film’s lack of romantic focus: “I love how this film doesn’t center around any sort of love … or romance or anything like that at all.”
Alcock has previously criticized online harassment from male superhero fans and individuals with burner accounts labeled “Dad of four, Christian.” In a March interview with Vanity Fair, she noted: “We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies.” By late May, she described these groups as the most harassing on social media, concluding: “Which is hilarious to me. But I mean, whose opinion do you really care about? If you’re pissing the right kind of people off, you’re doing OK.”
