DALLAS: AT&T is disabling and deleting inappropriate comments targeting spokesperson Milana Vayntrub, who portrays the character of Lily Adams in the brand’s commercials.
In an Instagram livestream last week, Vayntrub complained about harassment she is receiving on social media related to her AT&T spots and said there are so many negative or inappropriate comments, she doesn’t have time to report each one.
“I’m hurting, and it’s bringing up a lot of feelings of sexual assault,” she said in the livestream. “I am just walking my dog and getting messages from people who have distorted my pictures to get likes on their accounts.”
An AT&T spokesperson said via email that the company will not tolerate inappropriate comments directed at Vayntrub.
“We have disabled or deleted these comments on our social content that includes Lily, and we will continue to fight to support her and our values, which appreciate and respect all women,” the company said in a statement.
An AT&T representative was available for further comment.
On Monday morning, the company’s most recent ad starring Vayntrub still had a flood of inappropriate comments digitally catcalling the actress that had not been deleted.
Vayntrub was AT&T’s spokesperson from 2013 to 2016, and she returned this year for a set of commercials focused on working from home and video chatting with iPhones and 5G. She has also appeared in films such as Ghostbusters and TV shows such as House of Lies and Silicon Valley.
Other entertainers have been tweeting support for Vayntrub.
What is happening to @MintMilana on social media is an absolute disgrace. To all harassers, trolls, immature guys who hide behind a wall of anonymity to do and say things you’d never do or say in public and anyone who thinks this shit is “funny,” it is vile and harmful. #enough
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) August 30, 2020
Throwing back to this reminder that @MintMilana is an incredible human being who deserves nothing but love and respect ?? pic.twitter.com/yw2ydJYV4c
— Yetide Badaki (@YetideBadaki) August 25, 2020
Sure she may not ultimately correct the behavior of the aggressors, but she may influence the ones on the fringes. Those that are not yet full douchebags, but are just followers trying to impress their friends. By directly opening up about how hurtful it is, it forces those that
— Sandeep Parikh (@sandeepparikh) August 27, 2020
