Samuel L. Jackson stands for Brie Larson against toxic Marvel fans “who hate strong women”

Samuel L. Jackson is standing up for his friend and co-star Brie Larson.

In an interview released on June 20, Jackson spoke to Rolling Stone about the hate Larson received at the hands of “incel” Marvel fans when their 2019 film Captain Marvel was released.

The film was review bombed by internet trolls who were upset that a woman was given the lead role in a superhero film. According to Jackson, Larson is a “stronger person than people give her credit for.”

“She’s not going to let any of that stuff destroy her. These incel dudes who hate strong women, or the fact that she’s a feminist who has an opinion and expressed it? Everybody wants people to be who they want them to be,” Jackson said. “She is who she is, and she’s genuinely that.”

Jackson and Larson first met on set of the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island. That same year, Larson cast Jackson in her feature film directorial debut, Unicorn Store. And, when Marvel reached out to Larson for the role of Carol Danvers, it was Jackson she went to for advice before accepting the part.

“We bonded through the election while we were doing her movie when Donald Trump won. She was broken and I was like, ‘Don’t let ‘em break you. You have to be strong now,’” Jackson said. “Then, when she got Captain Marvel, she called me and was like, ‘They want me in the Marvel Universe. Should I do it?’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s do it!’”

Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury in the Disney+ Marvel series Secret Invasion, available to stream Wednesday, June 21. Larson will appear as Carol Danvers in The Marvels, which comes to theaters on November 10.

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