THE LAST OF US Star Bella Ramsey Fires Back at Show's Haters: "You Don't Have To Watch It"
The The Last of Us HBO series has been a massive success, but with that success comes plenty of criticism from fans who feel strongly about how the adaptation handles the beloved video game story. Now, star Bella Ramsey has spoken out, offering a blunt response to those who just can’t accept the show.
During an appearance on The Awardist podcast, Ramsey made it clear that they don’t spend much time worrying about online negativity but had a direct message for the loudest detractors.
“I try to steer clear as much as I [can], to be honest. You don't have to watch it. If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again. If you do want to watch it, hope you enjoy it.”
Season 1 of The Last of Us was widely praised, but Season 2 stirred up far more debate among fans. While the show stayed fairly faithful to The Last of Us Part II, many viewers took issue with how Ellie was portrayed, and some have still never warmed up to Ramsey in the role. As the later episodes unfolded, the backlash only intensified.
Despite the criticism, HBO has already confirmed more of the story is coming. However, there’s been a major shake-up behind the scenes. Neil Druckmann, creator of the video games and co-creator of the series, announced he will be stepping away from the show. Not long after, writer Halley Gross, who co-wrote The Last of Us Part II, also revealed she would not be returning.
Ramsey shared their thoughts on Druckmann’s departure, making it clear that his presence is still felt.
“He'll be obviously greatly missed the show, and the story is his heart and soul. So, he's still, he's still very much there with us. I mean, he is The Last of Us.”
Druckmann was deeply involved in the first two seasons as showrunner, writer, and executive producer alongside Craig Mazin, but has decided to turn his full attention back to Naughty Dog and the studio’s next projects. One of those is an original new game titled Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on Season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on Season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative.”
He went on to call co-creating the show with Mazin “a career highlight.” Mazin also praised his creative partner in a separate statement.
“It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game.
“While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect. We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of The Last of Us Part II to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in.”
What Season 3 will look like without Druckmann and Gross directly involved remains to be seen, but Mazin has hinted that the focus will shift while still staying true to the game’s narrative.
“Abby is the hero of her story. Wherever we go next, we’ll always be centering on somebody, whether it’s Ellie and Dina, or Abby and Owen … [But] everything is under the cloud or sunlight of Joel — what Joel did to Abby and what Abby did to Joel.”
Even with the uncertainty, Ramsey’s comments serve as a reminder that adaptations will never please everyone, and that’s okay. You just can’t make everyone happy.