The Last of Us Season 2 hit by ‘dumbest’ controversy yet: Bella Ramsey backlash explained

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According to some viewers, Game Ellie (voiced by Ashley Johnson) was “super likeable right away.” Naughty Dog (the game developers) made her “funny, clever, a little sarcastic, someone you’d want to protect, not just a burden.” But haters say Bella didn’t get any of these things right. Instead, she’s “loud, messy, sharp-tongued, and yeah, kind of a brat at times.” Many critics deliberately misgender Bella, who has publicly shared that they’re nonbinary. There’s an entire Reddit community focused entirely on mocking and dissecting her identity, personal life, and social groups.

A lot of it comes down to a weird fixation on another actor: Cailee Spaeny. Known for Priscilla, Alien: Romulus, and Civil War, Spaeny has become the internet’s “fantasy Ellie” pick. According to them, she bears a stronger resemblance to the game character. Meanwhile, some say it’s because fans had always wanted Kaitlyn Dever for Ellie — and now that she’s playing Abby (a character that already gets plenty of hate), it’s just salt in the wound. But out of all of them, the most debatable reasons involve misogyny, transphobia, and this weird need for the protagonist to be conventionally “hot”.

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People keep complaining how Bella’s voice doesn’t match Ashley’s. But they forget: Ashley Johnson was a grown woman voicing a teenager. Bella’s actually a teenager. In the end, a Reddit user made a great point: video games and live-action TV are completely different mediums. Those who are defending Bella couldn’t agree more with the fact that The Last of Us wasn’t looking for a lookalike. They were looking for someone “who could capture Ellie’s soul—her rage, her vulnerability, her survival instincts.” Bella Ramsey has done that.

In interviews, Bella Ramsey has been asked about the time jump between seasons, how Ellie goes from 14 to 19, and how they prepared to play an older version of the character. Bella recently told The Independent, “This is the most common question I get asked… and I’ve got nothing to say to you! No offence to everyone asking, but that’s the question I’m a little sick of.”

Amid all this drama, Bella recently deleted their Instagram account, according to Yahoo News. No official reasons have been given so far, and we can only see one fan page of the actor rolling out updates. Fans are linking it to the toxic flood of hate that’s hit their comments for months.