Jodie Comer has broken her silence on her boyfriend, defending her beau amid backlash over his alleged support of President Donald Trump.
In a new interview with Porter Magazine, the actress insisted ‘false information came out about’ James Burke, a 26-year-old from Massachusetts, who she has been spotted with mumerous times this year.
Some of the Killing Eve actress’ fans were upset over the summer when screenshots from James’ alleged Instagram account appeared to show he followed Trump.
Speaking out: Jodie Comer has broken her silence on her boyfriend, defending her beau amid backlash over his alleged support of President Donald Trump
‘All this false information came out about him, and people just ridiculed him and me, and my family.’
‘People took these tweets as truth. That was the biggest time my life has been kind of blown up and publicized in that way,’ explained Jodie in the candid new interview
‘A lot of people read things and they go, ‘Wow, she’s that, she’s this type of person’. And I’m like, OK, I can spend my life and my energy trying to convince people otherwise, or I can go, I know who I am, I know my truth and that’s good enough for me.’
In July, when Jodie’s relationship was made public, fans discovered James’ alleged political affliations.
Cover star: In a new interview with Porter Magazine, the actress insisted ‘false information came out about’ James Burke, , a 26-year-old from Massachusetts, who she has been spotted with mumerous times this year
Official records in the US reportedly showed that James is a registered Republican voter, although many members of the party strongly oppose Mr Trump.
Some Twitter users criticised Jodie for dating James after jumping to the conclusion without any evidence that he must be a Trump supporter, calling for her to be ‘cancelled’, claiming that her public support for the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBT rights and the fact that her character Villanelle is bisexual, are at odds with any Republican beliefs.
James was a star lacrosse player while at school and continued to play the sport as a midfielder at a senior level while at Pennsylvania State University where he majored in communication arts and sciences, according to his player profile.
He is said to have met Jodie in Boston, around 30 miles from Duxbury, and stayed with her in Liverpool over the summer getting to know the star and her close-knit family.
Jodie explained to Porter she’s keen to keep her love life private explaining: ‘It’s important for my family and having a boyfriend who isn’t in the public eye; it can be very strange and surreal. I’m very cautious of what I bring into my family’s life, it’s a safety thing.’
Her say: Jodie explained to Porter she’s keen to keep her love life private explaining: ‘A lot of people read things and they go, ‘Wow, she’s that, she’s this type of person’
James spent time with Jodie and her family in Liverpool during lockdown, a time the busy actress relished. ‘There’s nothing better than being at home, with my mum, my dad and my brother on the couch, and us all watching TV,’ she gushed.
‘My brother and I got some garden games, like badminton, to play over the washing line. We were like kids again, having to knock at the neighbor’s door, like ‘Can you throw the ball back over? I spend a lot of time on my own, which I love, but I think I feed off other people a lot. Going home is like a big warm hug.’
Jodie embraced the down time and also used the period as a chance to switch off from social media, adding: ‘Within the past month, I feel like I’ve sussed it out. It took a while, but it got to a point where I noticed it was affecting my health.’
‘I think you forget how accessible we are when we have mobile phones. In my head, it was like there is a line of people outside my front door who have nasty things to say to me, and I’m saying, ‘Come on in! Please sit on my couch, tell me’.
‘When I realized that was what I was doing, I knew I just had to stop and I haven’t done it since. It’s like, I don’t want these people in my house, I don’t want them in my head.’
The cover shoot for Porter sees Jodie wowing in a red sequin gown and a statement polka dot number, but talking to the magazine about her style on and off screen, the Scouser confessed she hasn’t always been a style icon.
‘I feel like I’ve lived like nine lives in regard to my fashion and my hair. I remember being young and out in town in a tiny dress and six-inch heels and clutch bag, and I’m like, “Oh my god!”‘
Last year she made the move from TV to film, shooting Free Guy, a sci-fi action comedy about a man who discovers he is a background player in an open-world video game.
Starring alongside Ryan Reynolds and directed by Shawn Levy, she plays programmer Milly and her virtual alter-ego Molotov Girl.
Just like in Killing Eve, Jodie was heavily involved in the costume choices, ensuring that her character was dressed appropriately for her action-heavy role: ‘Molotov Girl is an avatar created by Milly – it’s her dream, it’s her creation. That definitely had to be expressed, it couldn’t be a man’s ideal,’ she explained.
‘That was a rule I had with Villanelle as well. When we first started out, Phoebe [Waller-Bridge] was like, ‘This is real, this is practical, this is not gonna be silly.’
The screen star admitted, though, that she slightly missed Villanelle’s scene-stealing, designer-filled wardrobe: ‘When I had been doing Killing Eve and went back to Milly, who just wears jeans and Tshirts, I was like, ‘Where’s the amazing rail of clothes guys?’
Starring role: The screen star has admitted she slightly misses Villanelle’s scene-stealing, designer-filled wardrobe in her latest roles, post Killing Eve
To see the full interview, read PORTER or download the NET-A-PORTER app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Search for NET-A-PORTER on the App Store and Google Play.