Kaitlyn Dever apparently needed extra security filming The Last Of Us because weirdos really hate her character

We’re gonna go ahead and assume none of our readers are the type of people who would forget that actors are, well, actors, but if you’re missing a few brain cells and need a reminder, here it is: stop! Actors who play evil characters aren’t actually evil in real life. They’re playing make-believe! But some weirdos ran Jack Gleeson (a.k.a. Joffrey Baratheon) out of the industry, then they came for Lena Headey, then they came for Fabien Frankel from House Of The Dragon, and now they’re coming for Kaitlyn Dever, who plays divisive new character Abby in the upcoming second season of The Last Of Us. 

On a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via IndieWire), Isabela Merced, who also plays a recurring character in the upcoming season, revealed that some so-called “fans” were being so loser-ish to Dever that she had to take extreme measures for her own safety. “There’s so many strange people in this world because there are people that actually genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person,” Merced said. “Kaitlyn had to be extra secured by security when it came to the filming of this.”

And, look, no spoilers here, but you very well might hate Abby too when you meet her next year. A co-lead with Ellie (played on TV by Bella Ramsey) in the 2020 game, Abby is complicated and messy and kicks off one of the story’s most shocking moments to date. That’s not to mention the usual misogynist critiques that the character, who is drawn to be very buff, isn’t traditionally feminine enough in her video game form, but also that Dever is somehow too feminine and not built enough to play her in real life.

There’s literally no way to win with this crowd, but Merced insists that Dever is doing a damn good job regardless. “Kaitlyn is such a cool person who does not get phased by things. She really had her head in the right place, and also is going through a lot personally right now,” Merced said, referring to Dever’s mother’s death earlier this year. “It’s devastating to see, but also give her the damn Emmy, honestly. I’m so excited for people to see how incredibly well Bella and Kaitlyn did on this.” Besides, if anyone else comes for her or her co-star, Merced said she’d go “Cardi B on them” on Twitter. That’s way scarier than anything Abby could dole out.