Lexi Rabe: 7-year-old Avengers actress says 'please don't bully me'
- Published
The young actress who played Tony Stark's daughter in Avengers: Endgame has urged fans "please don't bully my family or me".
In a video posted on her Instagram account, which is run by her parents, Lexi Rabe says she can act "silly" and "messed up" in public.
The video's caption references the pressure that she and her family face interacting with fans in real life.
But Lexi wants people to remember she's "just seven years old".
Lexi played Morgan Stark in the latest Avengers film, the daughter of Tony Stark/Iron Man and Pepper Potts, played by Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow.
It was a small role but she had one of the movie's most memorable lines in a scene with her on-screen dad.
Putting her to bed, he says: "I love you tonnes."
And she responds: "I love you 3,000."
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In a post alongside the Instagram video, Lexi's mum Jessica talks about the pressure the family faces when out in public.
"She's a normal human being and she's a child," her mum writes.
"Please keep your opinions to yourself so Lexi can grow up in the free world."
She stresses how she doesn't want her daughter to become like celebrities who never leave their house.
"Sometimes we're rushing from place to place, stressed like everyone else to get to set on time, or work, or whatever, and we seem a little grumpy. We are not perfect!"
Jessica says that everyone can have bad days and as parents they want Lexi to be herself in public.
"These perfect children are not being given the freedoms and the rights that they should."
In a separate post featuring an image of Robert Downey Jr, Lexi's parents ask followers to help them report negative comments found on her page.
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Jessica also stresses that as parents they will discipline their children in a way that works for them.
"We give her a talking [to] and we give her timeouts but we don't do that in public.
"We give our children plenty of rules and boundaries but then give them the freedom to mess up and learn from their own mistakes.
"So if you see us in public and think you have the right to judge. Wait."
Speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat last week, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said he wants to tackle online bullying as part of a wider plan.
"Bullying has existed for a long time, it has changed and evolved with the internet.
"Like many other issues, bullying is broader than just Instagram and I think that sometimes gets missed."
This year Lexi is also starring in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, alongside Milly Bobby Brown who has previously spoken about how bullies made her move school.
They're not the first stars to address the issue of toxic fandom, when comments from online fans turn negative.
Lexi signed off her video with a positive message for her 250,000 followers, telling them: "I love you 3,000."
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