The industry leapt to the defense of actress Laura Bailey after she revealed some of the hate messages she received since the release of The Last of Us: Part II. The star, who plays the character Abby, has been subjected to vile abuse as a small but vocal contingent from the gaming community continues to grapple with the sequel’s story.
Bailey’s tweet is included below, but be aware that its content may be difficult to read:
Since then, the industry has sent a lot of love to Bailey, with her co-star Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie, writing a particularly moving response: “I love you Laura Bailey. Your performance in the game was an absolute revelation and transformed me. It was an honor to be on that stage with you. So much love and adoration. “
While the response to The Last of Us: Part II has been overwhelmingly positive, the story has not gone down well with everyone. One group started a petition to rewrite the plot, while director Neil Druckmann has been a constant target since sensitive details leaked. Analyzing the backlash earlier this week, he explained: “This is a bit of a cost. When you’re doing something big and can disappoint fans, now there’s a cost. That is, you will get a certain level of hatred, a certain level of vitriol that you just have to deal with. There is no other way to make it go away. “
In unrelated but poorly connected news, PlayStation has temporarily suspended its activities on Facebook and Instagram, as big corporations launch a battle against hate speech online.
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