The Last of Us Part 2: Abby Actress Speaks Out on the Hate the Character Received

The Last of Us Part 2 will go down as one of the most popular, yet divisive games on the PS4. […]

January 7, 2021, 12:15pm

The Last of Us Part 2 will go down as one of the most popular, yet divisive games on the PS4. While the first game is universally beloved, the second is far from it, for a variety of reasons that range from reasonable to inane and detestable. At the heart of the game’s controversy is Abby, played by Laura Bailey. Back in December, Bailey won performance of the year at The Game Awards 2020 for the role, which was expertly realized. That said, while the role has earned Bailey a metric ton of praise, it’s also earned her a great deal of hate.

In a new interview, Bailey revealed that she knew there would be backlash and “some hate,” but what she didn’t anticipate is how abundant both of these things would be. Speaking to this, Bailey revealed that she thinks the leaks ahead of the game’s release played a major role in creating “the perfect storm.”

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“I knew that there would be backlash for sure,” said Bailey. “I knew that I was going to get some hate. I didn’t anticipate the extent. It was the perfect storm. I think the leaks had a lot to do with it. If your first experience with that had been in the game, and then you kept moving forward, you would have had the growth and understanding. But the leaks came out a couple months in advance; you had months of people forming barriers and forming walls before they were able to understand Abby’s side of it, and therefore a lot of people never were able to.”

Bailey added to this by noting Abby was a difficult character to capture and bring to life, which is part of the reason why she’s very proud of the performance.

The Last of Us Part II is available via the PS4 and PS4 Pro, and playable on the PS5 via backward compatibility. For more coverage on it and all things PlayStation — including all of the PS4 and PS5 news, rumors, leaks, deals, guides, and reviews — click here or check out some of the relevant links below:

H/T, Game Informer.