Michael B. Jordan is responding to Internet trolls saying a black man can’t play Johnny Storm in the upcoming “Fantastic Four” film.

After online commenters expressed their displeasure over the fact that the actor is playing a character who was blond and blue-eyed in the comic, the “Friday Night Lights” and “Fruitvale Station” star penned an essay in Entertainment Weekly addressing the topic:

Sometimes you have to be the person who stands up and says, “I’ll be the one to shoulder all this hate. I’ll take the brunt for the next couple of generations.” I put that responsibility on myself. People are always going to see each other in terms of race, but maybe in the future we won’t talk about it as much. Maybe, if I set an example, Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other prominent roles, and maybe we can reach the people who are stuck in the mindset that “it has to be true to the comic book.” Or maybe we have to reach past them.

To the trolls on the Internet, I want to say: Get your head out of the computer. Go outside and walk around. Look at the people walking next to you. Look at your friends’ friends and who they’re interacting with. And just understand this is the world we live in. It’s okay to like it.

After the essay was published, Jordan took to Twitter to thank fans expressing their support:

I love you guys too!

— Michael B Jordan (@michaelb4jordan) May 23, 2015

“Fantastic Four” hits theaters Aug. 7. Head over to Entertainment Weekly to read Jordan’s insightful piece in full.

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