Stephanie Tyler Jones, the woman behind Mary Jane Watson’s face in Insomniac’s. Spider-Man Games, recently said she had been harassed by fans, including phone calls to her workplace where callers demanded to speak to her. In a public post on social media, she asked these fans to stop.
In the original Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 and be subsequent ports, spin-offs and sequelsJones provided the face model of Peter Parker’s famous girlfriend, MJ. While Laura Bailey provided the voice of MJ, it was Jones’ face that inspired the character’s model in the game. This made Jones famous in the Spider-Man community. But finally, Some fans went too far
On January 8th Jones posted a short, public letter on Instagram She details what happened and asks fans to respect her boundaries and stop sending her messages about MJ Spider-Man.
“Over the weekend, some followers crossed boundaries,” Jones said. “One even went so far as to call my workplace and leave multiple voicemails wanting to speak to me and asking me to call back, which is unacceptable and considered stalking.”
Although she “appreciates” the positive response her version of MJ has received from players over the years, she is no longer actively working as an auditioner, actress or model. Instead, she now works in the skin care industry, which is why she asked her fans to respect her career change and not message her on Instagram or her job, which focuses on skin care.
“My skincare page is not for Spider-Man or MJ fans,” Jones wrote. “The bottom line is that I came to work this morning and immediately felt unsafe and uncomfortable when I heard these voicemails.”
Jones ended the letter by asking fans and players to “respect that I am a human being trying to make a living, just like you,” and “kindly” asked them to stop sending messages to her.
“Messages are not being answered,” Jones said. “I will block you if you make me uncomfortable, and you can unfollow me if that disappoints you.”
While what happened to Jones is terrible and frustrating, it is unfortunately a common occurrence in video game communities and fandoms. Players have sent harassing messages and threats to developers, Voice actorand others simply because they don’t like a game or a character. We also saw Twitch streamers report Stalkers from their communitya clear example of fans forgetting that the people on screen are people too. My city has reached out to Insomniac, PlayStation and Jones’ former talent agency for comment.
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