For as long as we can remember, men have told women to smile: in 2015, Serena Williams brilliantly shut down a reporter who called her out for not smiling during a press conference post-match. In 2016, plenty of men insisted on telling Hillary Clinton that if she wanted to win the presidential election she had to cheer up. And Simone Biles was famously asked why she wasn’t smiling on Dancing With the Stars to which she promptly replied: “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”

Now, the sexist remark has been fired at actress Brie Larson as she takes on the highly anticipated superhero role of Captain Marvel.

After the first trailer for the film was released earlier this week, one individual decided to take umbrage at the lack of smiling from Larson in the trailer by putting it through a face app filter to “fix” her face. Because, you know, superheroes are known for being friendly – not fighters.

In short: he made her smile more. 

And it didn’t stop there. Others decided to troll Larson about her acting ability (or lack of). 

“Brie Larson needs a nap,” one user posted – insinuating that she can only produce one facial expression on screen. 

Of course, Larson – who is an award-winning actress – brilliantly shut down the sexist comments by posting a story on Instagram.

“Breaking news: You can be you,” she wrote.

“That means you can smile or not. You can be strong in the ways you want to be. You can own who you are. If anyone tells you different don’t trust them.”

And then she shared a series of images of well-known superheroes – from Iron Man to Doctor Strange and Captain America – smiling, proving that a smiling superhero, regardless of gender, looks ridiculous. 

Going forward, we want to see more female superheroes, less sexist trolling. 

Captain Marvel will be released on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2019.

Images: Getty / Instagram