Hugh Sheridan has revealed that he was driven to suicide after being targeted by transgender activists last year, which led to him being severely trolled online.
The actor, 36, also slammed cancel culture while discussing the ordeal with the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday.
The backlash started after the Packed to the Rafter star accepted the lead role in the musical stage play, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Trolled: Hugh Sheridan has revealed that he was driven to suicide after being targeted by transgender activists last year over his casting in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
The story centers around Hedwig, a genderqueer punk singer from Germany who falls in love with an American soldier.
Hedwig undergoes sex reassignment surgery to become a woman and flee to the US with their lover, but the surgery is botched and the soldier heads back home alone.
The musical, which was developed into a 2001 film, has gained a cult following over the years and has been played on Broadway and in London's West End.
When Hugh was announced for the lead role for the Sydney version early last year, he was immediately met with backlash from members of the LGBTQI+ community, who demanded that the role go to a transgender actor.
Four transgender activists had organised an open letter demanding he be dropped from the musical, which resulted in the actor being trolled on social media with 'horrific messages'.
Cancelled: The actor, 36, also slammed cancel culture while discussing the ordeal after transgender activists had the musical canned last year
The letter, which was signed by more than 1700 people, said that Sheridan's casting was 'offensive and damaging to the trans community' and was causing 'genuine stress' to members of the trans community.
The letter gained so much media attention that Hedwig's American creators, John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, issued a statement that Hedwig was not transgender and that anybody could play the role.
However, it wasn't enough to quell the backlash, with the musical's Australian producers eventually siding with the activists and cancelling the show altogether.
The cancellation led to the entire cast and crew, which included a trans woman and indigenous singer Casey Donovan, all losing their jobs.
Hugh was branded 'transphobic' by trolls on social media, and the backlash intensified when he responded to one of the transgender activists in his DMs, calling them 'insane'.
Backlash: When Hugh was announced for the lead role for the Sydney version early last year, he was immediately met with backlash from members of the LGBTQI+ community, who demanded that the role go to a transgender actor
The person then posted the private message on their own Instagram account, which caused Hugh to
