Bandersnatch: Trolls chase actor Will Poulter away from Twitter following new Black Mirror episode

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch received a ton of acclaim for its groundbreaking “choose your own adventure” format.

However, while the episode was a challenging and fun adventure, one of the lead actors in Bandersnatch is facing a backlash that is the opposite of fun.

Will Poulter stars as Colin Ritman, a more experienced computer programmer working with the company making Bandersnatch.

Why did Will Poulter leave Twitter?

The problem on Twitter came with the way his character looked on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. He had spiky bleached-blonde hair, which was actually pretty realistic for the ’80s time frame of the story.

Online trolls online don’t care about time frames or portraying characters in a TV series. They just want to tear people down.

A lot of people started making fun of Poulter on Twitter, calling him “ugly” based on the look of his character.

Compare the picture above from Black Mirror: Bandersnatch to the one below of Poulter in a regular appearance outside of the Netflix original series.

Variety reports that Poulter said that he thanked everyone who responded to the “material” that they created in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. The key word there is “material” — meaning the episode itself.

However, the online harassment by trolls on Twitter based on his personal appearance is not something that Poulter wanted to listen to anymore.

Poulter said that social media offers positives but there are also negatives that need to be avoided. He said that he is struggling with that balance and is stepping back to change his relationship with fans on social media in the interest of his “mental health.”

Twitter and celebrity trolling

If there is anyone who knows about how trolls like to attack people on Twitter, it is the cast of the new Star Wars trilogy.

John Boyega, who stars with Will Poulter in Detroit, watched as online trolls personally attacked Kelly Marie Tran for simply being an Asian in a Star Wars movie.

It was horrifying and Boyega admonished fans for their cruel treatment of the actress, who quit Instagram rather than continue to give herself over to continued harassment and insults.

Boyega spoke up again for his friend and co-star Poulter.

https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/1080574730162319366

Will Poulter said that he will still post on Twitter on occasion for the Blueprint Theatre Company as well as when he is working with charitable causes such as an anti-bullying campaign.