Spoilers follow for Game of Thrones.
As an antagonist of Arya Stark in the show’s fifth and sixth seasons, the Waif was far from a beloved character in a show filled with fan favorites.
And it sounds as if actor Faye Marsay, who portrayed the character and also recently starred in Andor, received a lot of blowback from fans, too.
In an interview with the Independent, Faye revealed that the backlash was intense enough that she had to leave social media.
“After Thrones came out, there was quite intense backlash at one point,” she recalled, “just because of the character I played.”
According to Faye, Game of Thrones fans “hated” her character “Because [costar Maisie Williams’s] character was, like, the one — and there I am, hitting her with a stick.”
All of the heat resulted in her decision to “take a step back” from social media. “Social media can be a brutal tool, and we all know it,” she said. “Look at the mental health crisis that young people are going through right now — that’s not just because of the pandemic, or teenage angst!”
I mean, she’s got a point. Also, if you don’t like a character on a TV show, for the love of all things holy, leave the actor who plays them alone! You all know that TV isn’t real, right…?
Read the entire interview here.
