Adam Pearson Has Been The Target Of Disgusting Online Comments, And I Hate That He Even Had To Acknowledge Those Trolls

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20-02-2025

A Different Man star Adam Pearson fired back at online trolls making insensitive remarks about him.
After bumping his head in his bedroom when he was 5, the bump never healed. He was taken to several specialists and was ultimately diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1, a rare genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. By the time Adam was 8, the tumors began to increase in size, making his facial deformity more noticeable.
During a recent interview with People, the 40-year-old British actor opened up about the bullying he experienced in school, but he refused to feel sorry for himself.
'Anytime The Elephant Man or The Hunchback of Notre Dame was on TV, the next day I'd hear that nickname,' he said. Secondary school was particularly painful: 'I'd take a deep breath before walking through the gates and try to hang on.'
'You can get bogged down in, 'It's not fair. Why is life so cruel?' It doesn't solve anything.'
I'll truly never understand the perverse pleasure some people get from being cruel to others. Despite being subjected to such treatment, Adam has continued to thrive on and off-screen.
He began his career in TV production for the BBC and Channel 4, and later landed his first feature film alongside Scarlett Johansson in the 2013 movie Under the Skin. Most recently, he starred in the psychological dark comedy A Different Man with Sebastian Stan.
The two recently reunited at the 2025 EE BAFTA Awards and while many saw this as the latest celebratory stop for their film, others used it as an opportunity to criticize Adam and his appearance.
When the seating chart for the BAFTAs was released, Adam could be seen next to Camila Cabello, both of whom would be presenting awards during the ceremony. Well, an online troll made this disgusting remark about it: "This is genuinely so scary, I would not attend the event if I were Camila."
To which Adam responded, "Luckily for everyone you're not Camila and - most importantly - weren't invited. So from me, Adam Pearson, directly to you - take your nonsense opinions elsewhere as I have EXACTLY zero time for your anonymous, ableist nonsense."
The original poster has since deleted the tweet, and offered a half-baked apology, while also calling him out for all of the people who came to Adam's defense in their replies.
"I made my tweet trying to be funny & it wasn't. I forget that my tweets can actually affect people & even tho you're famous, you still see comments like those. I deeply apologize & have deleted my tweet. I'll take the deserved backlash."
"I made an insensitive joke and deleted the tween when it had less than 200 likes," they wrote in a separate post. "I addressed you and apologized. I deleted the tweet before you had even made a post about it. You took that tweet and turned something that was already deleted, into thousands of people harassing me and sending me death threats & news articles made about me."
This response came without acknowledging all of the people who piled on their nasty comments about Adam under the original post made about him.
Both Adam and the online troll deleted their tweets to each other, but the torment didn't stop there for him. Another online troll shared images of Adam and Warwick Davis. Warwick is widely known for his roles in popular franchises like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Leprechaun. He was being honored with the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to film and TV.
Warick was born with Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Congenita (SEDC), a rare genetic disorder and form of dwarfism that results in short stature and skeletal anomalies that primarily affect the spine and long bones of the arms and legs.
Instead of applauding both of their accomplishments, the troll decided to write, "was this an award show or was the circus in town." Are you kidding me? WTF is wrong with people?!
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Being the stand-up guy he is, Adam had the best reaction:
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The original poster has since deleted their tweet after receiving backlash for it.
And I couldn't agree more! I'm glad to see him take on these trolls with such vigor, but I'm also extremely frustrated that he had to.
Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images