The Crowded Room: Newly announced Tom Holland series about man with dissociative identity disorder met with backlash

‘This is absolutely not the representation we want,’ one social media user wrote

Tom Holland’s casting in an anthology series about a man with dissociative identity disorder has been met with backlash.

The Spider-Man star will star in Apple TV+’s latest series The Crowded Room as Billy Milligan, the first person ever acquitted of a crime due to his dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder.

Milligan was arrested in the 1970s for raping three women at Ohio State University, with his lawyers pleading insanity.

The 10-part series is written by A Beautiful Mind’s Akiva Goldsman, with the show focusing on Holland’s story for the entire first season before shifting focus in later seasons to other people with mental illnesses.

The news of Holland’s casting was criticised on social media by many people with DID, who shared their concerns that the show would further “demonise” the condition.

“What is the thought process here?” one Twitter user questioned. “Find the most severely traumatised and stigmatised group of people and make a movie to increase misinformation and discrimination to make their life an even bigger hell?”

“1. It’s NOT “multiple personality disorder” it’s Dissociative Identity Disorder,” another tweet read. “2. This is yet again another movie that will only demonise us. This is absolutely not the representation we want.”

One fan wrote: “Hi casting Tom Holland to play Billy Mulligan just isn’t a good idea at all. I don’t care if A Crowded Room is based off of an award-winning biography of Mulligan. This just needs to be stopped.”

1. it’s NOT “multiple personality disorder” it’s Dissociative Identity Disorder.
2. this is yet again another movie that will only demonize us.
this is absolutely not the representation we want

— f: lee (@i10324) April 8, 2021

Dear @TomHolland1996 please reevaluate this choice! You weren't born yet when this disorder in 1994 was reclassified to Dissociative Identity Disorder. We are real, often disabled people, survivors not murders and this movie will again intensify the already existing stigma on DID

— Stronghold System-Founders The Plural Association (@did_system) April 8, 2021

What is the thought process here? find the most severely traumatized and stigmatized group of people and make a movie to increase misinformation and discrimination to make their life an even bigger hell?

— Theresa (@DIS_SOS) April 8, 2021

Hi, person with OSDD here to say that if Tom has any self respect, he should NOT be crossing this line and we should boycott this movie. They didn't even get the name right, it's Dissociative Identity Disorder not Multiple Personality Disorder.

— 🌈Circus of Light🎪✨BWW SPOILERS (@LumiNightmare) April 8, 2021

“Can we please stop portraying people with DID as murderers? This is going to do so much harm to people’s understanding of system responsibility and DID/OSDD1 in general,” another commenter wrote.

However, some film fans showed support for the project, pointing out that Milligan’s story was real rather than fictional, and that the film would be based on Daniel Keyes’ biography The Minds of Billy Milligan.

“I see a lot of anger from systems in the comments,” one tweet read. “This isn’t some horror story with made up characters. It’s real life. It happened and it’s an important story. He’s not a monster. He didn’t murder anyone. Read his story before judging this film that hasn’t even been made yet.”

One Twitter user was conflicted about the project, writing: “I don’t even really know what to say, I mean I guess I can kinda see the ableism, but at the same time my mind is just thinking of the movie as a representation of a real life event. I’d need a paragraph or two to sway me on this, it’s confusing me indefinitely.”

The Independent has contacted Holland’s representatives for comment.