Bella Ramsey Says Critics of ‘Last of Us’ LGBTQ Stories Have to ‘Get Used to It’
The Last Of Us has been receiving nearly universal praise all across the board. That being said, it does have its detractors. It’s one of the most talked-about shows in the last few years, and that only makes sense. The video game franchise it's based on is frequently ranked as among the best of all time. But the games were subject to the same kinds of criticism. Unfortunately, this criticism isn't your typical run-of-the-mill criticism like issues with pacing or writing.
The first game in the series was pretty much loved by all, but that's also because it didn't really push too many boundaries. It was more or less a straightforward action game with an ending that made people question the morality of the protagonists. The second game follows that thread. For some reason, people really had issues with the second game. They didn't like the secondary protagonist, they didn’t like the direction the story moved in, and some were particularly critical about a storyline involving a character who was trans.
The inclusion of a transgender man named Lev ignited many ugly comments in gaming forums and Steam reviews. Some had legitimate criticism; others just had issues with the inclusion of a transgender character in a video game. The game was subject to review-bombing. In Episode 3 of The Last Of Us TV series, a relationship between two gay men was depicted, leading to a similar review-bombing incident for the show.
Bella Ramsey, one of the co-stars of the show, identifies as gender-fluid. Obviously, she takes issue with the way some fans talk about the show. In an interview with GQ, she shared the following:
I'm not particularly anxious about it. I know people will think what they want to think. But they're gonna have to get used to it. If you don't want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that's on you, and you're missing out. It isn't gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.
New episodes of The Last of Us air weekly on Sunday nights on HBO.