Yesterday, the news broke that the beloved Buffy star Anthony Head had died aged 72.
In a statement, his daughters Emily and Daisy Head confirmed the actor had ‘passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family’.
The news was met with an outpouring of grief from fans and friends.
His Buffy co-star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, led the tributes with a poignant post on Instagram.
‘”Tell Giles I figured it out and I’m ok.” Well, I don’t have it figured out, and I’m not ok,’ she captioned the post.
‘But I know I’m the lucky one because I knew you. Thank you to Daisy and Emily, who not only shared their dad with me, but with the world.’
However, soon after his death was announced, another tribute to Anthony started to go viral on X.
The post, written by @dkeane16, read: ‘Really sad about Anthony Head!! always really loved this story where he invited a fan of his to his farm for the day, when he heard they were having a hard time after coming out as trans.’
Since the tweet was posted, it’s been liked more than 19,000 times and has been called proof of how wonderfully kind Anthony was.
The story was first reported by Pink News back in 2019, and involved the poet Jay Hulme, who was having a hard time after coming out.
Reportedly, Jay wrote to Anthony because he’d had photos taken with him at a fan convention before transitioning and was sad because they were signed to his dead name.
Jay had hoped that Anthony might replace the photos, but the Ted Lasso star went one better.
“Anthony and his wonderful wife Sarah reached out and invited me to come to their farm for the day,” Jay shared on Twitter.
‘They spent the day with me, took me to the fanciest restaurant I’d ever been to in my life, introduced me to their horses, took lovely photos, printed and signed them, and even gave me tips for an essay I was writing on Shakespeare for school.
‘Most importantly, however, they gave me what I had been lacking in my life up until that point – affirmation, compassion, and belief in my abilities.’
After their day together, Anthony stayed in touch with Jay and even wrote the foreword to his first poetry book.
In tribute to the kindness Anthony showed that day, Jay took the middle name, Anthony.
‘The eagle-eyed nerds among you may have noticed that my middle name is Anthony,’ Jay shared.
‘A reminder I gave to myself right at the beginning – a reminder to be for others what he, and Sarah, were to me. A light of hope.
‘They laid very small foundation stones, at a very important age (18), giving me the ability to grow and change, and build the life I have now. One where I write and teach and speak and try to help everyone build a better world for the future.’
The stories’ reemergence has been met with an outpouring of love from fans on social media.
However, @MatthewJFitz probably put it best on X when they wrote: ‘Let it be known that Anthony Head was a trans ally and truly loved his fans. Rest in Power.’
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