Michael Shannon wants to give Ezra Miller some slack

In all of Hollywood, it seems only Issa Rae is willing to truly condemn the behavior of Ezra Miller, The Flash star who was accused of numerous crimes and abuses between early 2020 and late 2022. Those others who have spoken up about Miller’s behavior are perhaps too financially entangled in the situation, given that the actor is the lead of DC Studios’ tentpole summer blockbuster. It’s no surprise, then, that co-star Michael Shannon has sympathetic things to say in a new interview with Vanity Fair.

“I thought Ezra was lovely—very kind to me when I was there. It’s difficult to talk about, but I always give people a lot of slack in this business, because there’s a lot of people in this business that have issues. And some people have more privacy than others,” says Shannon, who reprises his role as General Zod in The Flash. “Any time somebody is out in the spotlight getting picked on, I feel for them. Even if it’s warranted, it’s still a horrible situation.”

Some criticism is indeed warranted, in that there was at one time a warrant out for Miller’s arrest. In January 2023, Miller (who uses they/them pronouns) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after being charged with burglary in Vermont. But that was only the latest of the actor’s legal troubles; they were arrested multiple times in Hawaii for harassment, assault, and disorderly conduct. Tales of Miller’s erratic behavior included accusations of emotional and verbal abuse and grooming of minors. A Vanity Fair report painted a picture of a cult-like environment on Miller’s Vermont farm, wherein Miller presided over a “harem” of vulnerable people and a stockpile of weapons, purporting themself as a “Messiah” figure.

In August 2022, Miller released a statement saying, “Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment, I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”

It’s a complicated thing to balance giving a person in crisis grace and also holding them accountable for their actions. While Shannon’s position to cut Miller some slack is generous, there’s nevertheless something troubling about a big production glossing over a laundry list of offenses, many of which remain publicly unresolved. We’ll see how things pan out as The Flash press tour kicks into high gear over the next month.