'The Last of Us Part II' Director Draws Ire From Gamers For "Pushing An Agenda"

Neil Druckmann, director of the upcoming PS4 exclusive The Last of Us Part II and Vice President of Naughty Dog, has drawn the ire of some gamers for a recent Tweet of his.

More specifically, this week Druckmann retweeted a piece of fan art showing Uncharted's Nadine and Chloe sharing an intimate moment together. And in doing this, Druckmann was criticized by some gamers for pushing an "agenda" and for politicizing the Uncharted series and The Last of Us.

Amazing! //t.co/TrzztneFM2

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) February 14, 2019

I don't get this. Nothing in Uncharted series shows Chloe and Nadine with this kind of relationship. Why they must be sexualized?

Since TLOU is one of my favorites, I'm really concerned about Part II (I bought the Mondo's posters and vynil single). Where is your focus, dude?

— Rodrigo Molinsky (@rodrigomolinsky) February 14, 2019

They’re not a couple. Emasculating Nadine and sexualizing them both makes no sense. What’s next? Is Nathan drake going to give sully a hand shandy? Is Joel going to track back to bills town and give him one? No need to politicize these characters or TLOU2.

— King Brenny (@KingBrennymma) February 14, 2019

This is why I hate modern gaming take to straight characters and try to push an agenda

— Connoisseur of Salt (@HaloGearsForza) February 14, 2019

This is a bad joke, both Nadine and chloe are straight in the uncharted games, why force this?

— zanko (@zanko_cr7) February 15, 2019

The tweet drew nearly 200 comments, and while they aren't all negative responses, apparently the backlash was enough for Druckmann to issue a follow-up tweet noting that of course the fan art isn't canon, and that promoting it isn't him trying to push any agenda.

Guys, this is a beautifully illustrated piece of fan art. Stating the obvious: fan art isn’t canon and promoting it isn’t some sort of “agenda”.

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) February 15, 2019

As you may know, this isn't the first time Druckmann and Naughty Dog have been accused of "pushing agendas." The most recent trailer of The Last of Us Part II shown off at E3 2018 also was criticized in similar fashion for an intimate scene between Ellie and what appears to be her significant other in the sequel.

The Last of Us Part II is in development exclusively for PS4 and currently doesn't have a release date.

For more coverage on the highly-anticipated title, click here.