The Last Of Us Star Fights Back Against Body-Shaming
Melanie Lynskey fired back against Adrianne Curry, who stated she was not muscular enough to portray Kathleen in The Last of Us.
Recently, a dispute between The Last of Us actress Melanie Lynskey and America’s Next Top Model Season 1 winner, Adrianne Curry was sparked on Twitter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the exchange was provoked when Adrianne Curry tweeted a comment on how she believed Melanie Lynskey was not muscled enough to be believable in her role as Kathleen. The Yellowjackets actress did not stand for that, calling out body shaming and doubling down on her ability to embody the character.
The Last of Us is a hit series taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. The characters are forced to endure life-and-death circumstances and fight for survival. Melanie Lynskey’s character, Kathleen, although not original to the video game the series was based on, was added to the show.
After the outbreak of the deadly infection that wiped out civilization in The Last of Us, Kathleen was sent to a FEDRA-controlled quarantine zone. There, the character became fed up with being in custody and decided to spearhead a movement to get out. Kathleen bravely leads the revolutionary movement.
Melanie Lynskey plays the character in a way that is riveting, gritty, and feminine; the actress notes how she didn’t want to abandon femininity to play the role. With a soft voice, Kathleen commands her followers with tact and intelligence. While the character may not be the strongest in the show, she uses her smarts to survive the world in The Last of Us.
Because of the success of the character, it came as a surprise to Melanie and long-time fans of the franchise to see Adrianne Curry’s feelings toward the portrayal. Noting how she felt Kathleen should be muscled and strong, the comments felt as though she was body shaming Melanie Lynskey.
The America’s Next Top Model winner denies she was trying to body shame Melanie’s look in The Last of Us and claimed to be criticizing the casting instead. She stated that she simply didn’t find the actress to be believable in the role. Fans and Melanie herself did not take the criticism lying down.
On Twitter, Melanie Lynskey fought back, pointing out that the image used in Adrianne’s tweet was not from the show, but rather a photo from her cover shoot for InStyle magazine. In the now-deleted thread, Adrianne Curry appeared to double down on her message multiple times in replies to the actress.
The Twitter dispute was not over so quickly, though, as Adrianne came back saying The Last of Us actress had cropped her tweet in her response. According to Adrianne Curry, the tweet also complimented Melanie Lynskey’s figure. She noted how the cropped photo was manipulative.
Melanie Lynskey notes how she knows she was not a traditional choice for the role, but being able to subvert expectations makes her job fun. To many loyal fans of the show, the soft-spoken Melanie Lynskey’s portrayal of the character is spot-on. People have fallen in love with the curvaceous actress as the cunning and intelligent Kathleen.
While the dispute between the two may not be over yet, much of what was already said has been deleted. For now, fans can sit tight for the fifth episode of The Last of Us, set to air on HBO Max this Friday.
