Everyone who was around the publication of on the Internet The Last of Us Part II I know it was a bad time. But while we as fans and writers witnessed the intense backlash in real time, it was far worse for the creative team who were directly affected by it. Laura Baileywho played that secret second protagonist Abbyhas spoken about her experiences with harassment during the game’s release cycle and how some angry fans threatened her then two-year-old son because they didn’t like her character.
If you haven’t played yet The Last of Us Part IIAbby kills Joel, the protagonist of the first game, as part of a years-long revenge plan for her father’s death. As is well known, a subgroup of fans has commented on it, which it sees as a kind of “betrayal” by developer Naughty Dog. This backlash extended to the game’s cast, including Bailey. In the documentation Grounded II: The Making of The Last of Us Part II In the film, which premiered on February 2, Bailey tearfully spoke about the death threats she had received.
Some of these messages were forwarded to appropriate channels to ensure Bailey was not in immediate danger, including threats against her son, who was born during the incident Part II‘s development. A section of the documentary discussed the backlash in the area leaked cutscenes
Bailey spoke publicly about the online abuse she received surrounding the launch of The Last of Us Part II back in 2020, and even posted screenshots of some of the things that were sent to her. This included a message addressed to her son and parents. This level of Harassment has become so commonplace in the video game industry, and women working in the public eye in this field are most often targeted. Just at the beginning of this year, Spider Man 2
When I see how people treated Bailey for playing a character she didn’t write, I naturally worry about how The last of us Fans will react to Kaitlyn Dever, the will play Abby in HBO Max’s live-action adaptationas soon as the golf club falls. Many people have jokingly said she needs to get off social media now, but considering how terrible the reaction to Bailey has been, that might be good advice.
The Grounded II The documentary provides a look behind the scenes The Last of Us Part II‘s development and contains a gentle acknowledgment that Naughty Dog has a concept for a third game in mind.
