The Boys’ queer star Valorie Curry ‘loves’ to ‘make a clown’ out of right-wing superhero Firecracker
Valorie Curry plays Firecracker in The Boys. (HBO)
The Boys’ Valorie Curry has said she “loves” to “make a clown” out of her right-wing superhero character Firecracker.
Warning: The Boys season four spoilers ahead.
The Boys has returned to Prime Video and has already given viewers enough blood, guts and gore to shake a stick at. The series creator has already been forced to speak out on “woke” claims and confirm when the show is set to end.
Elsewhere in season four, viewers were introduced to Firecracker (played by Curry), the anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorist. Her character draws parallels between the culture war between the left and right in the US, especially as the presidential election nears.
In the series, Firecracker said at a convention that the motivation behind her superhero persona — who fronts an incredibly divisive podcast called Truthbomb on the series — is that she’s giving a “purpose” to far-right supporters.
Curry’s character tells fellow supe Sister Sage (Susan Heyward): “Which would you rather believe? That you belong in a community of warriors battling a secret evil or that you’re a lonely inconsequential nobody that no one will ever remember?”
Now, Curry — who identifies as a lesbian — has spoken about what it’s like to front such a controversial role.
“I love that I get to play her because I think it should be one of our own that gets to make an a** out of her, that gets to satirize her and make a clown out of her,” she said in an interview with The Advocate.
“And also, to lampoon these people and their absurdity and their ignorance and their violence, I’m glad that it’s coming from within the community, getting to take those shots.”
Her character’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric echoes messaging from women Trump supporters like South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert. Curry revealed this was a purposeful move from The Boys writers.
She said: “I was happy that the writers chose to go as far as they did with her rhetoric because that’s the rhetoric we actually see that is truth.
“Often some of the worst things that Firecracker says are quotes from elected officials. And so I’m glad that they didn’t make it general and they didn’t soften it.”
Showrunner Eric Kripke even told Variety that Firecracker’s inspiration was partially drawn from Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
He told the outlet: “Firecracker came from like, ‘Hey, isn’t Marjorie Taylor Greene scary?’ And just that type of personality.
“Like, you had Trump, but now you have these Trump spawn that are trying to outdo each other for how outrageous and sexualised and gun-toting and slavishly obedient they can be.
“And just that idea – it wouldn’t start and end with Homelander, he would start to create these spores that would grow into these other characters, and she’s a version of that.”
The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 are on Prime Video now with new episodes released weekly.
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