The 21-year-old actress revealed how the hate she has received for her appearance has forced her to log off social media, but it points to a more troubling trend within the gaming community
The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey has been forced to delete her social media accounts after receiving a consistent torrent of hate online. Why? Some gamers have said she does not look similar enough to the video game’s “computer generated” character of Ellie. Now, the severity of the backlash has left fans pointing to a more pervasive and insidious trend within the male gaming community.
The Last Of Us began airing on HBO in 2023 and has just released its second season on April 13. In it, Bella plays 14-year-old Ellie, the main character of a video game set in a world ravaged by the ‘cordyceps’ virus: a fungal disease that transforms those infected into terrifying murderous zombies. However, a significant portion of the audience have been caught up with the fact that the 21-year-old doesn’t look exactly like the animated character she’s playing.
READ MORE: The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey speaks out on Joel’s death with emotional revelation
Across Reddit, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram there are hordes of posts directing hate towards the young actress, including on HBO’s own Instagram page. And while many are denigrating her looks, there has also been vitriol directed at her for acting skills and public appearances.
Bella told The Hollywood Reporter: “I always knew that I’d [deactivate social media] one day and never even really wanted to have social media in the first place. If I just avoid Twitter and Reddit, which now I’m doing, then everything’s totally fine.” The actress has also deactivated her Instagram account.
In particular, the show’s subreddit is regularly inundated with cruel and invasive posts picking apart Bella’s appearance – which are often met with tens of thousands of upvotes. She explained the impact the vitriol was having on her self-image: “I got quite fixated on the way that Ellie looks in the game… And I didn’t look like that. My body type isn’t that. It was a challenge for me to let myself off the hook for not looking computer-generated.”
Reacting to Bella’s decision on X, many fans expressed their support. One wrote: “When people are anonymous they get to act wickedly unfortunately. It’s sad that anyone attacks anyone on looks. Bella is a great actor. All I care about.”
Meanwhile, others were quick to call out the haters. “It’s weird seeing man-babies cry about how an actress looks in comparison to a computer game character,” one user wrote.
Another added: “people can be really disgusting. it is not her fault HBO gave her the role, her acting is good, just grow the f–k up and leave this poor girl alone.”
She’s not the only actor from the franchise to come under attack from the game’s fanbase. Laura Bailey, who played Abby in the show, reportedly received death threats after killing off the fan favourite Joel – which even included threats against her new-born son. She told Vulture that the experience has discouraged her from posting on social media.
In 2020, the game’s studio Naughty Dog made a statement condemning the backlash they were receiving after certain elements of the show’s plot and cast were leaked. Neil Druckmann, the show’s co-director, also revealed on X that he had received a slew of anti-Semitic and violent messages.
Then last year, fans of the game Supergiant Hades II complained that Aphrodite, goddess of love, was too “ugly”. In 2022, the game Horizon Forbidden West was the subject of widespread hate posts after the gaming community decided its female character Aloy wasn’t attractive enough.
On a wider scale, the gaming community has been known to be a hotbed for misogynistic and racist harassment campaigns. Particularly when female characters, real or animated, don’t look or behave how they want them to.
In 2025, three popular female Twitch streamers were threatened by a stalker in livestream after one failed to give him her phone number. Given that Twitch is frequently used by influencers in the gaming community, the incident sparked concerns over the dangerous extents to which sexism and vitriol can go.
