Actor Adam Pearson and fans clap back at comedian’s ‘hateful’ tweet about him

Actor Adam Pearson has publicly hit back at a comedian who mocked his appearance in a cruel viral tweet.

“A Different Man” star Pearson, who has severe facial disfigurement due to the condition neurofibromatosis, was in attendance at Monday’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Comedian and podcaster Danny Polishchuk shared a photo of Pearson on the red carpet at the event with his 100,000+ followers on X this week, accompanied by a nasty caption:

“Me and the boys after taking Chinese Peptides for 5 years.”

Polishchuk was referring to the growing, largely unregulated market for buying synthetic peptides online, primarily from Chinese suppliers, for purposes like weight loss and muscle gain.

What he perhaps hadn’t realized, though, is that Pearson is also active on X, and was among the three million + people who’ve seen the tweet. Pearson reposted it with a caption of his own.

“I was today years old when I learned that taking Peptides for 5 years made you an Academy member, award-winning actor and Oscars attendee!” he wrote.

“You can tell a lot about a persons character by looking at who they’re willing to punch down towards – even in the name of comedy.”

Pearson’s followers applauded him for sticking it to the bully.

“God bless you, sir, for having to endure this kind of hateful crap,” one fan tweeted.

“Danny little bit jealous of your talent, success and style methinks,” another suggested.

Polishchuck posted the tweet almost 24 hours ago; it’s still online and he has yet to respond to Pearson’s tweet.

It’s not the first time Pearson has clapped back at hateful comments about his appearance on social media.

In February last year, he responded to a person on X who described his appearance as “genuinely so scary” when a seating chart for the BAFTAs showed that he would be seated next to pop star Camila Cabello. “I would not attend the event if I were Camila,” the social media user declared.

“Luckily for everyone you’re not Camila and — most importantly — weren’t invited,” Pearson wrote.

“So from me, Adam Pearson, directly to you — take your nonsense opinions elsewhere as I have exactly zero time for your anonymous, ableist nonsense.”

Pearson, 41, made his acting debut in the 2013 film Under the Skin, but 2024’s A Different Man became his big break in Hollywood: He played a lead role of Edward, an actor with neurofibromatosis who undergoes an experimental procedure to change his face.

Pearson was nominated for several awards for his performance, including the Independent Spirit Award.