Stephen Graham reacts to Elon Musk sharing 'anti-white' rhetoric on Adolescence

Adolescenceactor and co-creator Stephen Graham has declared people, including Elon Musk, who amplified a theory that the Netflix series was based on a real crime committed by a Black child, have "completely got it wrong."

The four-part drama miniseries follows the events that occur after 13-year-old schoolboy Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), arrested for the brutal murder of a young girl, and all of the episodes are each shot in one continuous take.

Since the show's release, it has sparked conversations both online and in Parliament around violence against women and young girls and how the manosphere and incel culture can impact teenage boys, with the series being shown in UK schools.

However, it has also led to misinformation being peddled on social media. A post on Musk's platform X, formerly Twitter, was shared which claimed Adolescence was based on a “real-life case such as the Southport murderer” and in this instance the perpetrator was Black while the protagonist in the Netflix show is white and said this amounted to “anti-white propaganda".

It even got the attention of Musk himself, who wrote "Wow" in response to the post, drawing more eyes to the conspiracy theory.

Now, Graham, who originally came up with the idea of the show and plays Eddie Miller, Jamie's father, shut down "Musk's butting in" as The Hollywood Reporter aptly puts it in their recent interview with the British star.

“They’ve completely got it wrong," Graham began.

“If they were to look at their facts, they would see that the horrific thing that happened in Southport happened after we finished our [show]. It just doesn’t make sense.

“So they’re using this to pursue their own agenda. I understand the whole concept of freedom of speech, I get it, and I see what they’re saying. But I think there’s a fine line between freedom of speech and hate."

Stephen Graham (left) has responded to the conspiracy theory that Elon Musk (right) replied to.Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images, and Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

“Some people have said it’s ‘woke ideology,’ and they’ve taken it to an extreme,” he continued.

“It was never about race … It was just meant to be a representation of a normal family that could live on your street. It could be your sister’s kids or, God forbid, your own kid. All of the stuff I was influenced by was social realism.”

Graham's latest comments come a month after screenwriter and co-creator of the series Jack Thorne denounced the conspiracy theory during an appearance on The News Agents podcast

“They’ve claimed that Stephen and I based [Adolescence] on a story and so they’re saying that we ‘race swapped’ it," Thorne said.

“Nothing is further from the truth. I have told a lot of real-life stories in my time. I know the harm that can come when you take elements of a real-life story, and you put it on screen, and the people aren’t expecting it.

“There is no part of this that’s based on a true story, not one single part.”

He concluded: “It’s absurd to say that [these crimes are] only committed by Black boys. It’s absurd, it’s not true.”

Elsewhere, Adolescence branded 'tosh' by Boris Johnson in 'pitifully s***' take, and Elon Musk's 'anti-white' comments on Adolescence slammed by creator.

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