- Erin Moriarity was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, Graves’ Disease, in June 2025.
- The actor recently opened up about the “physical and mental toll” the disease took on her while filming the fifth and final season of The Boys.
- Erin, who plays Starlight/Annie January on the series, shared a vulnerable post with fans on her Instagram Stories on Thursday, April 23.
Erin Moriarty is letting fans in on the struggles she faced while filming the fifth and final season of The Boys.
The actor, who plays rebel superhero Starlight/Annie January on the fan-favorite Prime Video series, got candid about her experience with Graves’ disease in an Instagram Stories post shared on Thursday, April 23, when the fourth episode of the season premiered on the streamer.
“Okay, so: season 5, episode 4 of The Boys is one of the most important episodes I've ever shot. Unfortunately, that part of the season coincided with my health issues peaking before my diagnosis,” she wrote, in part. “I’m saving you the gnarly part of this picture but not long after this episode, I started to lose the ability to walk. The numbness in my feet led to a lot of falling.”
Alongside the photo of her bandaged knee, Erin explained how her injury, mixed with the side effects of her autoimmune disorder, affected filming.
“The night before we shot my segment of this episode, I fell and shredded up my knee. I barely have any bts shots of this season, especially as things worsened,” she continued. “This isn’t a pity post. It’s mostly to say: fuck autoimmune disease. Fuck it so hard. Fuck the ignorance surrounding it, too. I can’t remedy that ignorance but not being outspoken about it occasionally feels wrong.”
Erin faced criticism from viewers when her appearance changed drastically during production due to the disease. She also revealed she was “really, really, really struggling to get through” filming the show’s fifth and final season since taking on the “physical and mental toll” since her diagnosis in May 2025.
“It did lead to me not being as present for Annie during this final season as I would've hoped, and that was super painful for me. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I'm failing Annie and I'm failing our audience,’” Erin recently told The Hollywood Reporter, adding, “It was like I was offline for the first six to seven episodes, and then I came back online. I finally felt present at the very end of season five.”
According to her, “I wasn’t able to transcend the physical and mental toll that this disease took on me until episode seven. It’s a testament to how profoundly impactful these autoimmune diseases can be, and I don’t think that people are aware to the degree that they can be.”
Because of how much difficulty she had while reprising her role, Erin admitted that season 5 will be the first time she won’t tune in to the series.
“I’ve watched every season of The Boys. I love this show so much,” she said. “But I’m not watching the final season simply because it’s really important for me at this moment in time to put my psychological health above all other things.”
Wishing Erin nothing but the best!
