After Hailee Steinfeld announced her engagement to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen over the Thanksgiving weekend, her ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ co-star Shameik Moore posted what many believe was a controversial response to the news.
“There’s still more people to meet. More opportunities to come. And more chances to try. Live, learn, apply,” read the actor’s tweet.
As the comment went viral, Moore shared a now-deleted post that explained, “Had no idea Hailee is engaged! That’s amazing. I’m here reflecting on my 2024 goals that are rolling over into 2025. God’s timing.”
When the last statement didn’t help with the backlash, he later added, “Y’all been twisting my words and f*cking with my name for years now.”
Negative reactions further grew after a fan shared a video from the ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ press tour, featuring moments Moore seemed to make his co-star uncomfortable by openly showing interest in her.
The Miles Morales voice actor addressed the backlash in a chat with Screen Rant at Fan Expo San Francisco this weekend. “A lot of times we don’t get to do it with cast mates, right? Because I might be in New York, Jake [Johnson] might be in Chicago… and we do the voice work from wherever we are,” he shared.
“The second movie Hailee and I worked more. And during interviews, I would speak about how much — I’m reading with Kemp Powers. I’m reading with Chris [Miller] or Phil Lord. So, I’m always talking to older men every time either in person or whatever the lines are. [Laughs] And so, I spoke about how fun it was or how much easier it was working with my co-star. And then these video clips got put together.”
“It’s been a tough weekend, my brother,” he added. “The internet’s been killing me, I’m sorry.”
Moore and Steinfeld will return in the Sony franchise’s third installment, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.’ Karan Soni (Pavitr Prabhakar/Spider-Man India) confirmed in August that voice recording is starting soon.
