It has been an eventful month for Naughty Dog. From leaks to controversies, overwhelming critical reception to middling user reviews, review bombing to record sales – The Last of Us Part II will forever be etched in videogame history as one of the most polarising games ever released. The controversies surrounding the team doesn’t seem to be stopping there.
Naughty Dog, the team behind creating The Last of Us Part 2, is now receiving death threats and harassment from the online community on a daily basis.
Laura Bailey, the actor who voiced Abby in the game is receiving death threats over her social media, including direct threat messages not just to her, but her family as well.
Man. I try to only post positive stuff on here… but sometimes this just gets a little overwhelming. I blacked out some of the words cuz, ya know, spoilers.
Side note. Thank you to all the people sending me positive messages to balance it out. It means more than I can say.❤️ pic.twitter.com/kGyULWPpNu
— Laura Bailey (@LauraBaileyVO) July 3, 2020
These hate messages and harassments have increased to such an extent that the studio had to go public about the matter and publish the following tweet.
Although we welcome critical discussion, we condemn any form of harassment or threats directed towards our team and cast. Their safety is our top priority, but we must all work together to root out this type of behavior and maintain a constructive and compassionate discourse. pic.twitter.com/eoq4t1ITnh
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) July 5, 2020
The hate is not only limited to Laura, but also directed towards Neil Druckmann, the director of The Last of Us Part 2. He posted the following:
You can love or hate the game and share your thoughts about it. Unfortunately too many of the messages I've been getting are vile, hateful, & violent. Here are just a handful of them (feel it's important to expose.) Trigger Warning: transphobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, etc. pic.twitter.com/uR9vpGgYQa
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) July 5, 2020
.Like Druckmann said, you can love or hate the game and can voice your opinion in a professional manner. But no developer or people involved in the making of games should suffer through such hateful actions. This kind of behavior should not be tolerated in any industry.
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