Adam Pearson had the perfect response to a cruel troll who questioned whether he was going to the circus instead of the BAFTAs.

The actor, 40, walked the red carpet of the prestigious film event last weekend alongside his A Different Man co-stars, however, he soon found himself facing criticism over his appearance from rude keyboard warriors. 

Adam has neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow on nerve tissue throughout the body.

One particularly mean troll shared an image of himself and fellow actor Warwick Davis on the red carpet, writing alongside it: ‘Was this an award show or was the circus in town?’

Known for his roles in Harry Potter, Star Wars and Willow, Warwick, 55 – who was accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award – was born with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), a form of dwarfism.

And directly addressing the troll on X, Adam expertly took him down with his response, commenting: ‘Has no one learned anything? So, to clarify, @fartsniffer0614, this was the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards.

Adam Pearson had the perfect response to a cruel troll who questioned whether he was going to the circus instead of the BAFTAs

Adam has neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow on nerve tissue throughout the body

‘I find somewhat ironic that you have ‘spreading kindness’ in your name whilst punching down at 2 successful actors simply for being disabled.

‘Take your ableism elsewhere.’

Adam later shared a positive tweet which read ‘Louder for the people in the back!’ as he shared a different user’s message slamming people for sharing mean comments about those with disabilities.

And while Adam’s response was widely praised by fans, this wasn’t the only shocking comment he had to endure amid the BAFTA awards.

When the seating chart for the awards was released, images showed that Adam would be sitting next to singer Camila Cabello, with the pair both presenting awards at the ceremony.

However, one shallow person chose to remark: ‘This is genuinely so scary, I would not attend the event if I were Camila’, reports Buzzfeed.

Not holding back in his response, the publication reports that Adam once again directly addressed the troll, telling them: ‘Luckily for everyone you’re not Camila and – most importantly – weren’t invited. 

‘So from me, Adam Pearson, directly to you – take your nonsense opinions elsewhere as I have EXACTLY zero time for your anonymous, ableist nonsense.’

As the actor, 40, walked the red carpet of the prestigious film event last weekend, he soon found himself facing criticism over his appearance from rude keyboard warriors

One particularly mean troll shared an image of himself and actor Warwick Davis [pictured] on the red carpet, writing alongside it: ‘Was this an award show or was the circus in town?’ 

Directly addressing the troll on X, Adam expertly took him down with his response, telling them to ‘take your ableism elsewhere’

Adam later shared a positive tweet which read ‘Louder for the people in the back!’ as he shared a different user’s message slamming people’s mean comments about those with disabilities

Read More Sebastian Stan slams reporter for calling A Different Man co-star Adam Pearson a ‘beast’

Amid a tirade of backlash from social media users jumping to Adam’s defence, they troll attempted an apology, writing: ‘I made my tweet trying to be funny & it wasn’t. I forget that my tweets can actually affect people & even tho you’re famous, you still see comments like those. I deeply apologize & have deleted my tweet. I’ll take the deserved backlash.’

However, they later called out all the people criticizing them thanks to Adam’s retort, writing: ‘I made an insensitive joke and deleted the tween when it had less than 200 likes. I addressed you and apologized. I deleted the tweet before you had even made a post about it. 

‘You took that tweet and turned something that was already deleted, into thousands of people harᴀssing me and sending me death threats & news articles made about me.’

Both Adam and the troll have since deleted their messages. 

Adam was also subjected to a cruel remark when the seating chart showing him sitting next to singer Camila Cabello was released, with the actor quick to shut down the troll

The actor later shared a snap of the sweet moment he later met Camilla at the awards

Adam has recently gained recognition thanks to his role in Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, also starring Sebastian Stan, which follows Edward (Stan) who undergoes facial reconstructive surgery, but later becomes fascinated by Oswald (Pearson), an actor who portrays him in a stage play.

Adam first hit the screen as the memorable face of Channel 4’s groundbreaking series Beauty And The Beast: The Ugly Face Of Prejudice.

The show paired up those with facial disfigurements with image-obsessed WAGs, to explore society’s fixation with physical perfection.

Before his first acting role, Adam was a researcher for the BBC and Channel 4, where he was the casting researcher for The Undateables, before going on to make documentaries, including the BBC’s Horizon: My Amazing Twin in 2016 in which he and his brother discussed genetics.

Adam has recently gained recognition thanks to his role in Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, also starring Sebastian Stan

Before his first acting role, Adam was a researcher for the BBC and Channel 4, where he was the casting researcher for The Undateables, before going on to make documentaries 

He also presented critically acclaimed documentaries Adam Pearson: Freak Show (BBC Three) and The Ugly Face Of Disability Hate Crime (BBC Three).

In 2013, he starred alongside Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin, his first ever acting role, but A Different Man looks set to propel him into a new league of stardom.

In the film, Sebastian’s character transforms his appearance, but is then crushed when he loses the opportunity to portray himself in a play based on his life to another actor (played by Adam) with a facial disfigurement – and he becomes obsessed about what he has lost.

It debuted in January to much acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival and has won rave reviews in the US.

WHAT IS NF1 NEUROFIBROMATOSIS?

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a rare genetic condition that affects approximately one in 3,000 people across the world.

It is also known as von Recklinghausen’s disease and it occurs because of a mutation on a person’s NF-1 gene. 

This gene regulates a protein that plays a role in cell growth and is thought to be a tumor suppressor. The tumors that grow can be both cancerous and non-cancerous. 

In addition to growths, neurofibromatosis can lead to an abnormally large head, short stature, heart problems, seizures and learning disabilities.

Most people with the disease live to a normal life expectancy.

While it can be pᴀssed down through families, about 30 to 50 percent of people who have the disease do not have any family history of it.

Neurofibromatosis is usually present at birth but it can develop at any age, with tumors growing at different rates.

Early symptoms include flat brown birthmarks and bumpy growths.

Cases can range from mild to severe with small sporadic tumors in various places on the body, to extreme cases where hundreds or thousands of growths appear across the body. 

Source: NIH; National Organization for Rare Disorders