A video that appears to show the Fantastic Beasts actor Ezra Miller choking a female fan is trending on Twitter.
The 14-second clip, which appeared on Twitter over the weekend, shows a young woman playfully approaching a man believed to be Ezra Miller.
“Oh, you wanna fight? That’s what you wanna do?” the man can be heard saying as the woman approaches him, waving her arms playfully.
The man grabs the woman by the throat and shoves her back into a parked aisle truck. He then drags her by the neck down to the ground.
It appeared that the man and the young woman were only play-fighting. The woman appeared to be smiling even after the man grabbed her by the throat. But when the man dragged her to the ground, someone observing the action seemed to voice concern.
“Whoa, bro, bro,” the person can be heard saying.
https://twitter.com/Hood_Vampire/status/1246880508644114438
The video clip is brief, and the lack of sufficient context makes it difficult to say what was going on. We don’t know whether the two knew each other before or whether they were strangers.
The playful manner in which the woman approaches the man suggested they could be friends or acquaintances and that she walked up to him to say hello.
Based on the sign “Prikid” on the back of the parked truck, some suggested that the incident took place in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Prikid is a popular restaurant in Iceland.
Twitter debates
Despite the apparent playfulness of the interaction between the two, the video has generated strong reactions on Twitter as fans tried to supply the missing context.
Some fans assumed the worst: that the video shows Ezra Miller interacting inappropriately with a female fan.
Several Twitter users said they felt let down by Miller’s seeming act of violence because it was not what they expected of the actor based on his public persona as a gender-fluid.
ezra miller … i really liked u pic.twitter.com/NRWSioCiFG
— cat ⚯͛ (@stinkydraco) April 6, 2020
not ezra miller…. notchu….. pic.twitter.com/CGY74S9Llc
— anastasia (@buckycried) April 6, 2020
Dam.. insanely inhuman to disrespect and a harm a fan like that. Don’t know the whole backstory but I don’t think I have to. People get so clouded up in their heads with vanity they think they can do whatever they want to whoever they want. Fuck Ezra Miller
— Diego Tinoco (@diegotinoco) April 6, 2020
ezra miller…i actually thought you were one of the good ones…
— samiha (@angelicrows) April 6, 2020
I'm still kind of shocked after watching Ezra Miller choke and body slam a female fan like that. I actually liked Ezra and his acting but I don't think I'll support him after this. pic.twitter.com/SS53f7rBEd
— .ｃｏｍ?Ｂａｂｙ™? (@in_bloom947) April 6, 2020
Ezra Miller is known for playing Credence Barebone in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). He played Barry Allen in Justice League (2017) and The Flash in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
He also played Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).
Miller is set to play Barry Allen in the DCEU’s The Flash scheduled for release in July 2022.
Miller identifies as non-binary and queer.