In a move that shows that HBO has learned a lot about fan toxicity, the company has prepared for the backlash it will face from the upcoming season of The Last of Us.
After notice that Kaitlyn Dever would play Abby – a notoriously loathed character in the game’s sequel, The Last of Us Part II– During the second season of the hit series, HBO and Max proactively provided additional security protection for the actress to protect her from fans who may have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction.
Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus)who plays the role of Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) lover Dina in season two, revealed to the Happy Sad Confused Podcast: “There are so many weird people in this world because there are people who really hate Abby, who is not a real person. Just a reminder: Not a real person. So, you know, Kaitlyn had to be especially well guarded by security during filming.”
When The Last of Us Part II In June 2020, the new game character Abby was criticized by players. Abby is a soldier who wants revenge on Joel for the death of her father and acts as an antagonist to Ellie. Online misogynists began to attack the character’s appearance because they could not cope with a woman with big muscles, some even Speculation that the character is trans (it is not). The Last of Us Developers Naughty Dog and Abby’s voice actress Laura Bailey were harassed and received death threats because of the game.
“What confuses me is that the showrunner (Craig Mazin) and the creator of the video game (Neil Druckmann) are working together to make this. So if you like what the guy did and he makes more of it, why are you mad?” Merced said on the podcast. “I have too much opinion to be on Twitter. I see this stuff on Twitter and it makes me want to play Cardi B.”
While Dever hasn’t commented on the show, Merced shared that her co-star isn’t letting these things bother her and praised the actress’ performance as Emmy-worthy. “It’s devastating to see that, but give her the damn Emmy!” Merced declared. “Honestly, I’m so excited for people to see how amazingly well Bella and Kaitlyn did. I’m so excited.”
The second season with seven episodes of The Last of Us Premieres on HBO in 2025.
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